A Bit of Blackened Fate
by SetsuntaMew
Summary: When Hakuryuu stumbles upon an odd antiques shop, he ends up with far more than he bargained for: a curse, another side of the world he'd never known, and an eccentric shopkeeper who has taken quite a shine to him. [updates weekly]
1. Chapter 1

hello yes here is my magi big bang fic! after months of work I can finally start sharing it and I'm so excited! it's a long, sprawling mess of a fic so I'll be doing a weekly update schedule, instead of dumping all 30k+ words at once. sorry XD

I drew a lot of influence from Petshop of Horrors for this, aka one of my favorite manga ever, as well as just...weird urban magical bullshit, I guess. there's a lot happening and I'm just really proud of it, so please enjoy!

* * *

Hidden deep in the backstreets of the city yet somehow in the middle of everything, Hakuryuu finds an antique shop. The front is unassuming to the point of being dull, but he's never been one to pass up an opportunity to find something new for his collection, so he pushes open the door.

It's something different inside, silken tapestries hanging in the windows and brass chandeliers casting warm light throughout the spacious room. It's bigger inside than he expected and crammed to the brim with colorful knickknacks and and elegant furniture. There's a shimmering mess of jewelry in the front counter and a pretty young man grinning at him from his perch on a chair.

"Welcome," he says, gesturing at the store. "What are you looking for today?"

"Hello," he says, slowly surveying the room. It doesn't look like there's much pottery, but… "I'm not sure if you'll have it, but there's this type of traditional Chinese pottery that I collect, and-"

"Ah!" the employee says, cutting him off and hopping off his chair. "Come with me!"

He leads Hakuryuu further back, and Hakuryuu takes a good look at him. He's dressed in layers of silks and brocades and draped in enough jewelry that he jangles with every step he takes. He almost looks like a part of the shop himself, Hakuryuu thinks. As they continue on, it really feels like the shop is much bigger inside than it looked from the street. They pass through rooms of glittering jewelry and vibrant silks, a hallway full of gilded frames containing seemingly priceless works of art, and Hakuryuu feels almost dizzy with each turn. He's half convinced it's an endless maze when they finally reach a curtained doorway.

The employee pushes back some of the heavy drapery and gestures. "After you," he says, grinning.

The shelves are packed with a veritable treasure trove of pottery, ceramics from all eras and cultures. At first glance it's impressive, but Hakuryuu knows better. Finding this many authentic pieces in one place - outside of a museum, that is - would be nearly impossible. Upon closer inspection, he's met with countless forgeries, but that doesn't stop him from handling everything with care as he delicately turns pieces over to inspect them.

Throughout all of this, he can feel the shopkeeper drifting around the room. Not too close- but he's there, waiting to be needed again while watching his merchandise.

No matter. He's letting Hakuryuu look in peace, mostly, and that's the important part.

And then-

In the back of the room, all alone and nearly hidden in shadow, sits exactly what Hakuryuu is looking for. He can _feel_ it, even he he's not usually one to rely on instinct alone. But it's not just in shadow; it's caked in a thick layer of black dust, probably from sitting in the back of an antique shop for years. Hakuryuu picks it up almost reverently, carefully inspecting the piece through the grime, and he can tell: it's the real thing.

Hakuryuu sets it back down gently, hardly believing his luck. He turns to find the shopkeeper right behind him, watching.

"Find what you were looking for?" he asks, and Hakuryuu nods.

"Yes, thank you. I'll take this one," he answers, gesturing to the piece. "I don't mind the cost, but I do expect it to be fair."

The shopkeeper looks him up and down, far too calculating for what Hakuryuu is comfortable with, before finally giving him a broad smile.

"Twenty bucks," he says, and Hakuryuu is sure he didn't hear that correctly. Even in its dirty state, it would fetch thousands at auction, easily. "Oh, but," he begins, and Hakuryuu waits to hear a more accurate price. "You can't clean it."

"Excuse me?"

He's still grinning, and Hakuryuu thinks he must be hearing wrong. "You heard me. It can't be cleaned."

"I assure you, I know how to properly clean something like that. I'm not going to bring it back because I messed up," Hakuryuu says, trying to explain himself. Obviously, the shopkeeper must be concerned that he'll carelessly damage it and expect some sort of compensation.

"Nah, you're not _listening_. I'll only sell it to you if you promise not to clean it."

This man is clearly insane. Normally, he would be morally opposed to lying, but Hakuryuu can't pass up this opportunity. He waits a moment, trying to seem like he's considering his options, before he nods. "Alright. It's an odd request, but I suppose you're the one selling it."

"So you're agreeing to the terms?"

"Yes."

And the air feels strange in the far back room of this odd antiques shop, heavy with promise and power and something Hakuryuu can't quite place, and-

"Awesome! Come on, let's go wrap this up and get you on your way. You wouldn't want to be late to anything, right?"

He did have a dinner with his sister planned this evening. Hopefully he hadn't spent too much time here.

The shopkeeper leads them out, passing through different rooms this time, until they're back in the cramped front room. He cheerfully boxes up the pottery, carefully wrapping it before putting it in a sturdy box.

"Twenty bucks and you're good to go," he tells Hakuryuu, as though this is a totally normal transaction for him. Hakuryuu digs out his wallet, looking for cash as quickly as he can because he still can hardly believe his good luck.

"Oh, and sign this," the shopkeeper says, placing a small sheet of paper on the table. Hakuryuu skims it, and it's just a store policy contract: follow all instructions provided with your purchase or the store isn't liable for any difficulties or malfunctions you may have, and no returns. Hakuryuu signs away and hands over his money, fingers itching to get the bag and get home.

Long fingers snatch the form back and bounce off the gaudiest stapler Hakuryuu has ever seen. He's handed the receipt with its attached policy, then finally, the brown paper bag containing his carefully wrapped purchase.

"Have a nice evening, Hakuryuu," he says, and there's a strange chill in hearing a stranger call him by name so casually.

"Thank you," he responds on his way out, and clutches the bag closer to him. He has to run home and store this somewhere safe before his dinner with Hakuei.

x･x･x

All through dinner with his sister, Hakuryuu could barely concentrate. She had news about some of their cousins and stories from her most recent trip abroad, but all Hakuryuu could think about was going home to properly inspect his new acquisition.

He takes the first chance he can to escape, and once he's settled into his apartment, he can finally do just that.

Hakuryuu carefully removes it from the box and its wrappings, setting them aside to be thrown away later. For now, he can't wait to clean it up and see its exact condition.

Hours later, after meticulously removing every bit of grime and dust, Hakuryuu observes his handiwork with pride. It's truly a beautiful piece and he still can't quite believe his luck. He carefully puts it on a shelf for the night and heads to bed feeling accomplished, if a little exhausted from staying up so late.

Morning dawns gray and bleak, but Hakuryuu won't let the dreary weather ruin his mood. Nothing like finding something marvelous to help. He can't get his mind off his good find while getting ready, especially since having a fully intact piece is a rarity.

But-

Something feels off when he walks through the living room. Hakuryuu can't quite place it, but it's not right.

The pottery sits on the shelf, dark and grimy as yesterday in the antique shop, and he gets a sinking feeling in his gut. It's impossible, and yet...here it is, caked with dust again.

Hakuryuu glances at his watch and breathes a sigh of relief. He still has enough time before work to do some preliminary cleaning. If he can just get this started, he can come straight home after work and finish it up. He'll have to be more diligent next time.

Evening brings him home to an even dirtier piece, and Hakuryuu feels the strangest frustration. Did the shopkeeper trick him? Is he imagining things? It doesn't matter, though. He can just clean it again.

And somehow, he falls into a routine. A quick clean in the morning and a more thorough one in the evening, sometimes stretching into the wee hours of the morning until he's so exhausted he can barely keep his eyes open. But he _has_ to clean it, purge it of the seemingly never ending filth, and that's more important than sleep.

Eventually he buys a glass case to house it in, in case it's somehow attracting the dirt in the apartment. But it somehow still seeps in, through the glass and onto the ancient ceramic, and Hakuryuu takes to scrubbing down the shelf every day as well. Maybe if he can keep everything clean enough, it will finally be enough.

Yet still it isn't enough.

The cleaning may begin with the piece, but it doesn't end there anymore. The glass case clouds with fingerprints and dust and a thin veneer of oil, and cleaning that takes at least an hour. Then from there he has to scrub down the shelf, and cleaning that knocks dust and dirt into the carpet, so he has no choice but to vacuum after every cleaning.

His hands seem black as the grime somedays, caked into every crease and pore, and they won't come clean no matter how much he scrubs at them. But it's alright. As long as he keeps cleaning, everything will be alright.

After all, it has a routine now- he wakes up in the morning, does the glass and the shelf, then washes his hands before he vacuums the carpet. From there he takes the piece to be cleaned, pausing to wash his hands so as not to cross-contaminate. Some days he calls off work when the grime is bad, and one day "some days" turns into every day, and then he doesn't _have_ to call out anymore because he's simply told not to come back.

No matter.

He has work enough here.

The walls get washed every other day, because to do them every day would take too much time. Making sure the piece itself is clean is the most important part. It seems every cleaning simply reveals a new place for dirt to get caked in, and his hands shake as the sun rises through a dingy window. He sets the prize back in the glass case and shuts it, heading to bed. His disheveled sheets welcome him with the sour smell of sweat, and he clenches his eyes shut to take a fitful hour of sleep before the cycle starts all over again with blackened walls and grimy glass and a priceless piece of pottery that refuses to be cleaned but is so, so beautiful.

His phone screams him awake, and Hakuryuu fumbles to turn it off. There's voicemails and texts from his sister, unopened, unheard. When did those get there? He has a moment's concern for the thought, but it's gone quickly- he needs to wash his hands and get back to work.

The water is cold, and the soap stings. Hakuryuu looks down to see cracked and split fingers, blood mixing with the grime in the sink, and he realizes that the something might be wrong. All he can think about is cleaning, even if it dirties him too, but now the dirt isn't coming off his hands. Just skin and blood and Hakuryuu thinks he might vomit.

He has to stop scrubbing his hands raw. He drags himself away from the sink and collapses on the couch. What's happening to him? He takes a few deep breaths, purposefully avoiding looking at the pottery, and tries to think. He hasn't been to work in days now, maybe more since he's been losing track of time. He needs to come up with a plan. Something different. His hands ache but he can't stop thinking about wanting to clean some more, to continue purging the dirt from everything. Even the shelf looks dirty now, dripping ooze and dust and Hakuryuu grips the couch tightly to steady himself again.

Something is definitely wrong.

He needs help, and despite the warning, he can only think of one person who might be able to help him: the shopkeeper at the antiques shop.


	2. Chapter 2

Luckily, the same man is sitting behind the counter, halfway through painting his nails. He looks far too comfortable precariously balanced in his chair, and he looks up when he finishes his nail to grin at Hakuryuu. "Ah, pottery boy! Glad to see you back. Looking for more?"

"There's something wrong with it," Hakuryuu says lamely, trying to figure out how to explain his situation.

"Oh, come on. You knew it was dirty when you got it. This is kind of an 'as-is' sort of place, you know?"

Hakuryuu shakes his head. "I know. But somehow it's been making everything around it dirty too, and-"

The shopkeeper holds up a hand and narrows his eyes at Hakuryuu. "You didn't clean it, did you?"

Hakuryuu can't meet his eyes, and the shopkeeper sighs heavily. "Let me see your hands."

He hesitates, before holding one out. The shopkeeper takes it and carefully looks it over, a deep frown settling on his pretty face. He finally lets go and Hakuryuu stands awkwardly, waiting for an answer.

"I **told** you not to clean it. It's cursed and now you've gotten yourself cursed too, because you didn't listen."

"What do you mean, cursed? Don't tell me you expect me to believe something like that?"

He stares at Hakuryuu, unnervingly bright red eyes seeing far deeper than Hakuryuu is comfortable with. "You can't stop thinking about cleaning it, can you? Even now, you wish you could go home and scrub it clean, even though your hands are already broken and bleeding, even though you're trying to have a conversation with me. Tell me, Hakuryuu...have you been missing important commitments lately? Work, perhaps?"

At Hakuryuu's silence, he continues. "What other explanation could I give you that explains this?"

"Curses aren't real," Hakuryuu says, but there's a slowly growing feeling of dread and understanding. Nothing and everything makes sense all at once, and his head hurts.

"Sure there aren't," he replies sarcastically, and goes back to painting his nails.

Hakuryuu can't believe his calm. "Aren't you going to do anything?"

He doesn't even look up. "Don't have to. You signed the contract, remember? It's not my fault you broke the rules."

Hakuryuu is nearly rendered speechless, but his ire returns quickly. "But it's _cursed_! You're acting like you see this sort of thing all the time."

"I do deal in antiques. I'm quite familiar with nasty little curses. But oh, I thought they weren't real?" The shopkeeper is looking at him again, looking quite like the cat that caught the canary.

He takes a few deep, calming breaths. "I don't know what else to do. I'm sorry that I intentionally broke the rules, but it just seemed so silly…"

There's a sigh as the shopkeeper shakes his head, dropping his attitude. "I don't just say things because I like the sound of my own voice. I mean, I do love my own voice, but I was trying to warn you. That's a rather deep curse, one that I couldn't fully remove myself, or I wouldn't have left it on there."

Hakuryuu sucks in his breath. Ah. That's why he's being so evasive. "So you can't help me."

Instead, the shopkeeper looks offended. "I didn't say _that_. I just meant it would be a pain in the ass to free you from it."

He breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you-"

"Don't thank me yet. I never said I'd do it for free," he interrupts, grinning again.

"I figured. It's fine, money isn't an issue. I just want to be free of this."

"Oh, Hakuryuu," he says, chuckling. He eyes him up, and Hakuryuu feels like he's being judged and measured. It's uncomfortable. "I don't need your money. I'll have to think of something more...exciting. I'm a picky man, you know. But I do want to help you."

Hakuryuu watches him as he sits at the counter, pondering his fate. He looks contemplative, tapping his now finished nails on the counter, and Hakuryuu's not sure what else this man could possible want from him. Silence stretches between them as Hakuryuu fights every urge to run home and start scrubbing the filth from every surface, until he finally looks triumphant.

"Got it!" he says, looking quite pleased with himself. "I could use an assistant...so serve me for a while as payment, and then you'll be free to go."

He considers this. It could be worse, he guesses, even if he would have preferred to just exchange some sort of money instead. But...he doesn't trust something so vague. "For how long?"

Somehow, the shopkeeper's grin grows even wider. "Well, you _did_ break your contract. I really shouldn't be helping you, but I think you cute. So for something this difficult...oh, a couple hundred years should do it."

Hakuryuu stares at him, waiting for him to laugh at the joke or change his mind. But just like the absurdly low price on his pottery, he seems dead set on his offer. "We'll both be long dead before that time is up."

"Will we?" His eyes seem too large, his mouth too wide, and Hakuryuu shivers. He's in too deep. He's in far too deep, and he has no idea how to get out.

"And if I don't agree?"

"You'll go home and you'll clean and clean and clean, scrubbing the never ending dirt and grime in your life until it grows so large it overtakes everything you have, until you scrub away every bit of yourself and there's nothing left but a bleeding mess of bones, skin stripped away as it infects your very core and blackens your heart," he tells him, leaning closer until he's in Hakuryuu's face, the last few words barely above a whisper. "I warned you, Hakuryuu Ren, but you were too prideful to listen."

Hakuryuu swallows deeply. He doesn't question how he remembers his full name, not now. He's stuck, trapped by his own foolishness, and he's half ready to believe that the man in front of him truly will live for hundreds of years. He'll be forced to as well if he agrees. But when it's between life and death, Hakuryuu isn't ready to die yet. Especially not like this.

"Alright," he says softly, and the shopkeeper's eyes light up. "I agree to your terms."

"Fantastic!" He leans back, digging under the counter until he pulls out some paper. "Let's just draw up a contract real quick so I can get to fixing you before it's too late. You came just in time, you know."

"Lucky me."

"You _are_ ," he insists, and then glances up again. "You can call me Judal, by the way. I figure you should know my name if we're going to be spending so much time together." He goes back to the focusing on the paper, not waiting for a response as he carefully works out the details of the contract.

Judal finally passes over a finished copy, and Hakuryuu makes sure to read over it carefully this time. He's going to learn from his past mistakes before he completely ruins his life. After realizing it's as they discussed, he reaches for a pen. "This looks right."

"Nope," Judal says, snatching the pen away. "This one's a little different."

"Oh?"

Judal produces a knife with a flourish, its gilded handle glittering in the light. "Let me demonstrate."

He slits a small cut in his thumb and lets the blood drop onto the page. It shimmers for a second before twisting into a signature, _Judal_ , glistening in bright red at the bottom of the contract.

"Your turn!" he says cheerfully, passing the knife to Hakuryuu. "But since you probably can't do that sweet trick, you can just use a fingerprint."

A contract literally signed in blood...Hakuryuu can't help but feel like he's making some sort of deal with the devil. But he's out of options, so he follows Judal's example and slits his thumb with the knife, quickly pressing the blood to the contract. This time, the words glow, and he can _feel_ the power in the words and the blood. It's overwhelming and Judal's eyes are practically glowing as well, and then the shop is plunged into darkness.

"Oh, damn it," Judal swears. He waves a wave and light glows around it, casting sharp shadows across his face. "I didn't think there'd be enough magic to kill the electricity, but this building can be finicky. Sorry about that."

Hakuryuu just nods, still adjusting to the low light and the steady thrum of - magic, he thinks? - pounding in his veins. Everything feels different, and he has a brief respite from desperately wanting to clean. But it fades and he wants to claw his way out of the store so that he can get home and-

"Alright! Let's get this party started," Judal says, now seemingly excited. "I've got some supplies to gather but then we gotta head out before you get any worse." He ducks behind the counter and takes the light with him, rustling around until he comes back up with a messenger bag over his shoulder. "Come on, Hakuryuu. Take me to your home."

"What?"

"I've gotta get to the cursed item, _obviously_. I can't just wave a wand and fix your problems."'

Hakuryuu nods and follows him out, leading the way after Judal holds the door open for him. It's a short walk home, Hakuryuu taking long strides to get there quickly with Judal at his heels.

When they walk in, Judal lets out a long, low whistle. "This is is a real mess, huh?"

He nods, hands clenched at his sides, afraid that if he says anything or moves closer, he won't be able to resist cleaning again. Seeing it now, it seems like another world. The living room has a stale stench of mold, and the walls are streaked with stains that look like they belong in a condemned building, not a modern apartment.

Judal walks around the apartment, picking things up carefully and inspecting them. After what feels like an eternity, he walks back over to Hakuryuu. "Okay, so it looks like only this room is tainted. I should be able to get the curse back to just the pottery and off of you, it just might hurt a little. Just… just stand there and try not to touch anything, alright?"

And then he goes to work. Judal pulls a wand out of his bag, followed by some plastic baggies. Hakuryuu can't do much but watch Judal, trying distract himself with that while he fights the urge to stop him. Almost every part of him is screaming that Judal needs to stop ruining things but deep down he knows it has to be done or his life won't be his anymore, and he can't give up. Judal is putting stange powders on the shelf around the pottery, sprinkling more where the grime has spread through the room, and humming to himself the whole time.

Judal steps back at one point, looking over his progress. There are murmured words and the powders glow a bright blue, nearly glittering, and Hakuryuu watches the blackened grime twist and flow back onto the pot. The stains melt down his walls and dirt seeps out of the carpeting until it's all centered back on the source. It's disturbing and heart wrenching and he wants to fight Judal so badly; he needs to stop him. This isn't right, this isn't the way it should be cleaned, only _he_ can do it-

"Hakuryuu!" Judal snaps, suddenly right in his face. "Calm down. You need my help, remember?"

"I-" he begins, and everything hurts, his throat scratchy and dry from stress. He swallows deeply and nods. "I know. Sorry."

Judal takes his hands and magic pulses in them, raw, barely restrained power, and once again Hakuryuu wonders _what_ Judal is. The cursed pottery is calling for him, begging to be cleaned and cared for, but Judal is still gripping his hands tightly and speaking quickly. Hakuryuu can't understand a word of it but he can feel it drawing something out of him, until-

His throat seizes up like he's about to choke or vomit. He coughs, gagging, desperate to get rid of whatever it is that's blocking his throat. His knees feel weak, and it's only Judal's iron grip, coursing with magic, that keeps him from falling to the ground. He's gasping for air now, tears pricking at his eyes as he coughs and gags, thick, ichorous drool dribbling from his lips.

"Come on, Hakuryuu," Judal urges, "you have to get it out."

Hakuryuu clenches Judal's hands back because he's trying, trying so hard to be free of whatever this is. Something bubbles up, not from his stomach but scraped from his lungs, his veins, his very being, and he vomits a thick, roiling mass of sharp black sludge onto the floor.

"Gross!" Judal exclaims, but he sounds triumphant. He finally releases Hakuryuu's hands and grabs a container from his messenger bag. He lifts the ball of noxious sludge with magic and drops it in the container, sealing the lid firmly. "Ew, this is what was in you!"

Hakuryuu sinks to the floor without Judal's hands to support him, clutching at his stomach."I think I'm going to be ill."

Judal laughs. "Look at this!"

Hakuryuu tries to look away but pauses. "Is that tupperware?"

"I have a spell on it," Judal explains, pouting. "Just don't touch anything yet. You should be fine, but I wanna be sure. How do you feel?"

"Kind of nauseous."

"But you're not about to jump up and clean it again?"

Hakuryuu pauses, considering the question. He doesn't. He's finally feeling almost like himself again, for the first time in weeks. "No, I think I'm free."

Judal shoots him what looks like an honest smile, for once, before it turns into a cocky grin. "I'm still going to remove the pottery, but you're in the clear."

"Good," he says. "I don't want it around. What are you going to do with it?"

He's wrapping it in paper, carefully avoiding touching it himself, and looks contemplative. "I was considering putting it back up for sale, but I don't think I can trust people to listen to me. And the more it spreads, the bigger mess it is to fix! So I'll probably put it in storage for awhile."

"Why not lift the curse?"

Judal puts it in a box and tapes it shut. "Can't. I'm good, but this curse is centuries old...like I said earlier, if I could remove it myself, I would have done it already. At best I could transfer it to something else, but I'd rather not risk it trying to curse _me_ in the process." He pauses and looks back at Hakuryuu. "And before you ask, I can't break it, either. It would be like your apartment but worse, because there'd be nowhere to herd the grime back to. So! Storage it is."

"I see." He doesn't quite see, but what other choice does he have?

Judal gathers the box up and dusts himself off before slinging his bag back over his shoulder. "Anyway, I have to go fix the electricity back at the shop and put this away before it causes any more trouble. See you!"

He heads to the door, leaving Hakuryuu feeling relieved, confused, and oddly empty. It's been a long day, and all the missed sleep from the past weeks is starting to hit him.

"Oh!" Judal pauses on his way out, looking over his shoulder at Hakuryuu. "Stop over tomorrow so you can start working. Don't think I'd forgotten already."

"Of course. What time?"

"Hmm, let's say noon. I should be up by then. Probably."

"I'll see you then," Hakuryuu says, and Judal leaves him in peace. It's time to finally get some rest.


	3. Chapter 3

a bit of a shorter chapter this week, but I swear they get longer as the fic goes on! I'm just enjoying the build up for now, you know? anyway, please enjoy, and leave me a review if you like it!

* * *

At 11:55 AM, Hakuryuu stands outside the antiques shop. He can't see anyone inside, but Judal told him to be here at noon, and he prefers to be a few minutes early. It never hurts to be prepared.

The door is locked, but that's to be expected. Judal must be somewhere out of sight, preparing for opening. Hakuryuu doesn't see any hours posted though, so if the store doesn't open up at noon, he's at a loss for what to do. Is this some sort of strange test? Should he just sit outside and wait?

He doesn't have any other plans for the day, so he may as well wait for awhile, at least. He pulls out his phone to find a book to read, and mentally berates himself for not getting some sort of contact information from Judal. But how was he supposed to know that no one else would be here?

It's Judal's responsibility to run this shop, not his, but he doesn't want to risk upsetting Judal's fickle attitude. He waits around for awhile until someone from another nearby shop steps outside.

"Are you waiting for the antique place to open?"

"Ah, sort of. The owner told me to meet him here," Hakuryuu answers.

"Oh, good luck. He's very inconsistent with when he actually shows up to open."

Fantastic. "You don't happen to have his number, do you?"

They shake their head. "He's a nice kid but very cagey and private. Sorry!"

"It's alright." Maybe he'll go for coffee somewhere and then come back. He pulls his phone back out to look up local coffee shops, when the neighbor interrupts his thoughts.

"He does live above the shop, though. You could probably knock on the door."

Hakuryuu shoves his phone back in pocket and gives the neighbor a grateful smile. "Thank you, I'll try that."

He makes his way through a narrow alley between buildings until he comes around to the back. The whole experience with the curse still feels surreal, and in the bright afternoon sun, it's hard to believe it was anything but a nightmare. But it was real, so here he is, trying to track down Judal.

Hakuryuu finds a door in the back and tries it. This one opens to a dimly lit stairwell, and Hakuryuu cautiously enters. Belatedly, he thinks about how big the inside seemed compared to the size of the building. Maybe he can get Judal to explain how that works later.

With more nervousness than he's comfortable with, Hakuryuu knocks on the door at the top of the stairs.

No answer.

He tries again, louder this time, and Hakuryuu thinks he can hear some movement inside. He waits a bit before knocking again, and now he's sure he hears something. There are some shuffling footsteps, and the door opens slowly.

Judal stares back at him blearily, and he's almost a different man. Gone is the perfectly made up, somewhat mysterious shopkeeper. Instead, he's got the faded remnants of yesterday's makeup smeared across his face and a ratty t-shirt on, and Hakuryuu can just barely see his long braid coming loose behind him.

"Who- Ugh, Hakuryuu?" he asks, obviously confused.

"You told me to be here at noon," Hakuryuu responds, now thoroughly annoyed. "I've been waiting."

Judal eyes him up. "Sorry. Late night last night, so I needed to rest up. Uh. Come in, I guess," he says awkwardly, opening the door wider. Hakuryuu comes in and grimaces. Judal's home is a mess, old takeout containers and clothes piled everywhere. He'd judge it more harshly, but Judal did just see his apartment in a disgusting state last night, so he'll withhold his negative opinions for now.

He ignores Hakuryuu and shuffles towards the kitchen, grabbing a peach before leaning against a counter. Awkward silence stretches between them, the only interruptions the noises from Judal eating his peach. Hakuryuu kind of wishes he'd just stayed outside.

"Anyway," Judal begins, tossing his peach pit in the trash and grabbing another from a bowl. "I'm gonna get dressed a little nicer than this, and you can, uh...help me out in the shop for a bit, I guess."

"Alright."

Judal wanders off, leaving Hakuryuu free to look around the living room. Besides the mess, it's full of trinkets, most of them old enough that they're probably things he didn't want to sell in the shop. There are colorful fabrics hanging from the walls, similar to the aesthetic of the shop, and even more jewelry than Hakuryuu had seen for sale downstairs. It's oddly empty of any sort of personal pictures, even on the wide bookshelf.

He's not quite sure what he's supposed to be doing while he's waiting, and Judal is taking his time getting ready. But eventually Judal saunters back out, once again looking the part of a mysterious, maybe magical, dealer of ancient items. He's jangling with golden jewelry, leading Hakuryuu to wonder just how much jewelry this man owns.

"You stuck around! Good, good," Judal says. "I half expected you to leave."

"I considered it," Hakuryuu tells him, and Judal laughs.

"Let's go open up shop, then, before you change your mind."

x･x･x

Judal sets a box on the counter. "So you look like a guy who's good at organizing," he begins, gesturing at the box. "And I've got these receipts from before I switched to fancy technology."

Hakuryuu eyes the box with concern. "Is that entirely full of receipts?"

"Just about, yeah. I used to throw them all in here at the end of the day."

"I see," he says tersely. How does this man actually run a successful business?

"I think I need them for taxes or whatever, so I'm gonna need you to organize them."

He nods. All things considered, this isn't too bad. It will be time consuming and frustrating, but not impossible. "Do you have an office, or perhaps a bigger counter somewhere? I could use some more space."

"Uh, yeah. Follow me," he says, leading Hakuryuu through a nondescript door. There's a rather plain looking desk inside with some filing cabinets next to it and what appears to be a closet in the back. "There should be, like, office supplies and shit in the closet, but lemme know if you need anything else." Judal waves and wanders back out, leaving the office door open.

It's slow going, sorting through the unnecessary mess that Judal has made. Somehow, it's even worse than he imagined, and Hakuryuu is just grateful that the receipts are dated. He starts by breaking them down by year, carefully slipping each year into its own labeled folder. There's another folder for ones so faded that he can't make out the date, set aside for Judal to deal with later. Maybe _he_ can make some sense of them.

He's just about through the box when Judal rejoins him, a stained takeout menu in hand. "Hey, I was gonna get delivery. You want anything?"

"Oh. Um, sure," he awkwardly agrees, surprised by the offer.

"My treat, by the way, for dealing with all of...this," Judal says, gesturing at the receipts. "Especially cause I've got more boxes of those back at the counter."

Hakuryuu isn't surprised. There are wildly varying numbers of receipts for each year, different enough that some are obviously missing, and they have to be somewhere. "I see," he finally says.

"Yeah, so pick something out. You don't have to stay here all night or anything, but I do stay open pretty late to, you know, make up for how late I usually open up."

"Thanks. Can I see the menu?"

Judal sets it down on the desk, nearly upsetting some of Hakuryuu's delicate receipt piles, and turns to leave. "Come get me when you're ready!"

He takes a deep breath to calm himself and to prevent himself from yelling at Judal. It's Judal's mess and if he makes it worse, he just won't be able to justify getting mad at Hakuryuu for it taking longer. He'll just pick something for dinner and move on with his project.

The menu looks well loved, so Hakuryuu can only hope that means the food is good. Judal doesn't look like someone with cultured food tastes, but maybe looks will be deceiving for once.

He settles on beef with broccoli, something simple that should be hard to mess up, and vegetable hot and sour soup. He writes it down on piece of paper for clarity, just to be safe.

Judal is sitting cross-legged at the counter, once again impossibly balanced, and glances up when Hakuryuu gets close. "Ready?"

"Mmhm. I wrote it down for you."

"Oh, you _are_ organized. Nice!" Judal takes the paper and menu back and pulls out his phone to call it in. "No, yeah, I want my usual, but some other stuff too. Let's see, uhhhh vegetable hot and sour soup, and- no, I still don't like spicy shit, don't you dare adjust the heat of mine! I need some beef with broccoli too- yeah, I know those both have vegetables in them, but they're for someone else. Don't put any in my lo mein! Yeah, sure, I want a second fortune cookie. Thanks."

Judal shoots him a grin. "They know me there. I'll bring it to you when it gets here."

"Alright. Please don't just set it down when you do."

"Hm? Why not?"

"I'd rather you not disturb the system I have going," Hakuryuu explains, and Judal laughs.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry for ruining your life! I'll be careful next time," he says, still grinning.

x･x･x

"Wanna come eat out here?" Judal asks, poking his head into the office. "I made room."

Hakuryuu nearly drops the receipts he's holding. How is Judal so quiet while wearing so much jewelry? "It might be easier," he concedes, glancing at the desk.

"Come on then," Judal says, popping back out. "Before it gets cold."

Judal has another stool set up at the counter and he's shoved all the trinkets to a corner of the shelf behind him. It's enough space, if they're close, but Judal doesn't seem to be concerned.

"They sent me an extra egg roll, too, so you're welcome to it if you want. These are actually really good cause they're not weird and textured, just so you know."

Hakuryuu just nods and grabs a plastic spoon. His soup is solidly good, and food appears to be the only thing that can shut Judal up. They eat in a surprisingly comfortable silence, surrounded by a strange shop of even stranger trinkets, and Hakuryuu has to admit that it's not all bad.


	4. Chapter 4

I'm on vacation this week, so I'm just scheduling this to post and I don't have a whole lot of time to say anything D: but there's some fun beginnings of magical bullshit in this chapter (er, more than we've already had, obviously) instead of just Hakuryuu crying over Judal's inability to organize his paperwork XD

* * *

They fall into a comfortable rhythm as the days pass, with Hakuryuu sorting through years of old paperwork. It's baffling to him, how one person could be _so_ disorganized, but it seems that anything is possible with Judal.

He usually orders some sort of dinner for them, but Hakuryuu has taken to bringing a healthier meal for lunch. He found an old minifridge under a pile of papers in the back of the office and cleaned it out for himself.

Judal catches him eating a salad one day and laughs, but Hakuryuu isn't going to let someone who appears to subsist on peaches and takeout alone judge his eating habits.

He's sitting on a chair backwards, idly watching Hakuryuu work as slow evening stretches on. It's been a quiet week for business in general, so he's gotten used to Judal spending more time with him in the office.

"You wanna learn how to do more here than just organize papers and shit?" Judal asks eventually, leaving Hakuryuu momentarily stunned from the change in their routine.

A beat, and Judal leans forward. "Well?"

"I guess so," Hakuryuu answers carefully. "Why do you ask?"

"It's not always this slow, you know! I could use some extra help. And you do wake up earlier than me, so I guess that could prove useful."

"I do like to keep a regular schedule that doesn't keep me up at strange hours."

Judal waves his hand. "I'm not gonna have you work alone for awhile, don't get so excited."

He nods. "That's understandable. Running a shop alone is a lot of responsibility."

"Yeah, _whatever_. I just have my own method of pricing things that's hard to explain."

"Well, you could use price labels. I found a few packs of them in the desk."

Judal shakes his head, looking incredibly offended. "It depends on the customer."

"...what?"

"I'm a fickle, picky man. Sometimes I don't wanna sell stuff to people, and sometimes someone needs something."

Hakuryuu isn't sure whether he should be impressed or frustrated. With Judal, he frequently feels both. But, now he's wondering… "So how about the pottery that I bought?"

Judal finally gets out of his chair and saunters over to lean against the desk. "I knew you really wanted it, but also that it would never be what you actually wanted. So I did give you a deal, since I wanted it out of here."

"I don't think that worked out."

He shrugs. "I dunno, I now have _you_ around to do my bidding. That's totally worth having to keep a cursed artifact in store." Judal pauses, considering Hakuryuu for a moment before leaning in closer. "But I'd pegged you as a more honest man, so I didn't expect this outcome."

Hakuryuu feels his cheek burn with shame. "I usually am. It just seemed like a nonsensical requirement."

Judal leans back out of Hakuryuu's personal space, still grinning. "Your funeral! Come on, you've got some learning to do."

"Right now?"

"The papers aren't going to walk off, Hakuryuu," Judal says, rolling his eyes.

Hakuryuu carefully puts down what he's working on and gives Judal a stern look. "You have to promise not to touch anything in here."

"I won't!" Judal nearly bounces back into the storefront, and Hakuryuu sighs. Judal somehow manages to confuse him more every day, but he's starting to realize the he's not as serious and mysterious as he likes to pretend he is. He's pieced together that Judal is definitely older than he looks, but other than that...he's a conundrum.

"Hey!" Judal waves a hand in his face. "Are you listening? I said, you'll probably redo my whole register setup because you're such a neat freak, but for now I _have_ been trying to keep it more organized. I've been using that folder you gave me for receipts."

"I'm listening," Hakuryuu assures him. "And I'm glad you're finally beginning to take organization seriously. Honestly, I don't know how you keep this place running in the messy state it is."

"Oh, it's _fine._ I try to stay away from credit cards because of all the stupid fees, so I guess it is easier to have this nice system for the cash receipts."

"Wait, Judal...if you give everything arbitrary prices, how does your inventory even work?"

He shrugs nonchalantly. "I just sort of go with what I feel. _Anyway_ , moving on."

Hakuryuu wants to strangle him for his carelessness. Once again, he's wondering how Judal manages to turn a profit with his shop, since he's learned that this careless attitude is not just part of his act.

"So some of my inventory is magical, some isn't. Some's got curses, like what you had, and can be dangerous. You're gonna need to learn how to tell the difference."

"I'm not some sort of magical...whatever you are. How do you-"

He waves a hand, cutting Hakuryuu off. "Even someone like you can be taught, don't worry. You seem smart enough. But, mm, there are some things you just shouldn't touch, and I don't want to risk it." Judal takes him back through the twisting hallways and rooms of antiques, pointing out dangerous pieces tucked in corners, just out of easy access. Hakuryuu's head is nearly spinning by the end, from the detailed list and the maze, but he's trying to keep up.

Once they're so far back that Hakuryuu is _sure_ they've somehow ended up in another building, Judal leans against a wall and shoots him a mischievous grin. Oh, no. "So, get us back."

"Excuse me?"

"Back to the front room! You can't expect me to lead you around forever, Hakuryuu," Judal teases, drawing out his name at the end. "So I want you to lead the way."

"Ah." He has no idea how to get out of here, but it's obviously some sort of test. Which means he'll have to make an effort to prove himself in Judal's eyes.

Every turn seems different, like slightly warped versions of other rooms. But there has to be some sort of method to them, or Judal would be lost, too. He looks for similarities, for _something_ to hold onto, and tries to block out any distractions from Judal.

It comes together in pieces, but he starts to recognize constants. A lopsided painting - different every time but the frame is the same - and the same dangerous items in the same arrangements, even if they are surrounded by different items each time. It's not quick, but Hakuryuu patiently works through the pattern until he finally pushes aside a curtain and they're standing in the familiar front room.

Judal woops happily, looking so pleased you'd think he just solved the maze. "You did it!"

He nods. "I did." He's rather proud of himself, even if it looks like Judal isn't as-

"Congrats! I expected you to get so lost that you had to give up, but I guess I should have known better. You're far too stubborn and resourceful."

"Thanks. I think?"

"You're welcome," Judal says, giving him a quick, honest smile. "Wanna get dessert to celebrate? My treat."

Hakuryuu shakes his head. "You just want dessert."

"So? _You_ didn't say no. Come on, there's this Korean bakery that's open late, and I haven't been there forever."

"Oh, I didn't realize there was one near here."

"There isn't. You have a car, right?"

"You are a leech," Hakuryuu tells him.

"A leech with money and good taste in sweets. Come on rich boy, I wanna see what fancy car you've got."

"It's practical," Hakuryuu says defensively. "And it's parked at my apartment."

Judal shrugs and grabs his keys from under the counter. "I can walk."

Hakuryuu just sighs, following him out. "This had better be good."

"It will be, I promise!" Judal assures him, falling into step next to him. It's a nice night, with just the lightest warm breeze ruffling their hair as they make their way to Hakuryuu's apartment. Predictably, Judal teases him about his no frills sedan, but now it seems almost fond. "This sort of grampa car suits you!"

Hakuryuu rolls his eyes. "No teasing if you want a ride."

"I do, I do!" Judal holds up his hands defensively. "Now you're gonna head to East Faye Street…"

The drive goes quickly, and the pink bakery is, as promised, open late and full of delicious Korean baked goods. Judal takes point on the ordering, getting them a wide selection of buns and sweet breads.

"Thanks for the ride," Judal says and he looks almost normal, standing outside the shop in a hoodie, bakery bag clutched tightly in one hand.

"No problem," Hakuryuu tells him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah! Shop's closed tomorrow. I've got a big shipment arriving and I'll need to sort through it." Judal pauses, looking thoughtful. "But you should come by anyway and I can teach you to recognize some magic."

"If you think that's possible-"

"You found your way through the shop, didn't you? Have some faith in yourself, Hakuryuu." And with that, Judal turns to slip between buildings, waving as he heads to the back entrance.


	5. Chapter 5

welcome to this week's exciting adventure~ I swear this is the last of the kind of short chapters! after this one we start getting deeper into the plot and then that just keeps happening XD please bear with me until then, and enjoy this chapter for now! :D

* * *

Judal is sitting on the doorstep with two cups of coffee, a box of donuts, and a far too cheerful smile. "Good morning! I hope you're ready for today!"

"You're up early," Hakuryuu says, gratefully taking the offered cup of coffee. "Thank you."

"I had to be up for the shipment and there was no point in going back to sleep. So here I am!"

He nods, sipping his coffee. It's fairly good, but rather sweet. Judal must have picked some sort of overly sugary creamer, which is probably also contributing to his upbeat attitude.

"Anyway, we'll be unpacking it in my apartment. If anyone's in the store, customers _will_ try to force their way in." Judal hops up, carefully balancing his cup and the box of donuts, and leads the way around to the back of the building. Hakuryuu hasn't been here since the first day, but he can still remember the mess. He's curious about how they're going to get anything organized in a place like that.

The living room is packed with oddly shaped boxes, and Hakuryuu barely resists cringing. Of course it's a disaster. No wonder Judal wanted his help.

"Don't open anything," Judal tells him, squeezing his way to the back of the mess. "Some of it is magical and I don't want you getting any more nasty curses."

"That almost sounds considerate."

"Well, I'd have to waste my time fixing it," Judal shoots back, grinning. "Hand me a box cutter and we'll get started."

Hakuryuu passes him the knife and manages to make a seat for himself on a couch to watch Judal work. He lifts pieces out of the boxes, turning them over and observing seemingly worthless items carefully, before laying some of them out on the couch next to him.

"Oh, there's an empty box in the kitchen. I need somewhere to put this crap."

"Got it," Hakuryuu says, getting off the couch and carefully walking through the living room, trying to avoid all the boxes and mess.

"Actually, bring both boxes."

When he makes it to the kitchen, he frowns at the mess on the floor. "Judal, there are more than two boxes here."

"Just, I dunno, pick a couple!"

He grumbles but complies, since arguing with Judal is usually a lost cause. It takes a bit of maneuvering to pass them to Judal, but they make it work eventually, and he starts dividing items between the boxes without any sort of organization that Hakuryuu can understand.

Eventually Judal crawls back out of his box fortress, the two boxes levitating behind him.

"Show off."

"I am about to teach you, so you should be grateful," Judal says, setting one of the boxes in front of Hakuryuu. "This is full of magical items and this-" he sets the other one down "is nonmagical. I want you to try to feel the difference."

Hakuryuu looks at the boxes, each filled with a seemingly random assortment of items, and back up at Judal. He's grinning, looking quite pleased with himself, but still manages to look serious about his idea.

"I'll see what I can do," he tells Judal, feeling somewhat silly as he picks up a tarnished candle holder. It doesn't seem to be anything special or different, but according to Judal, it's magical.

Judal looks over and shakes his head. "No, that's too much of a challenge. It's just slightly touched with magic. Lemme see," he says, nearly crawling into Hakuryuu's lap to get to the box of magical items. "Hmm...no, no….ah hah!" he exclaims, pulling out a music box. " _This_ has a much stronger magical signature."

"Thanks?"

Judal sits back up and he's all leg as he squirms his way off the couch. He picks his way back through the boxes to his original post and nods at Hakuryuu. "I'm gonna keep sorting and you just...work on that for now."

He tries. He feels ridiculous, but he tries. Hakuryuu clutches at the music box in his hands, willing it to just feel like _something_ besides wood and metal. But there's nothing for hours, just the same curved metal legs digging into his palms as he holds it close. He tries to think back to the night he signed his contract with Judal, to the thick feeling of magic in the air and thrumming in his veins, but he can't reconcile that with the music box in his hands. He wants to feel it, he's ready to believe, but why-

"You're going to hurt yourself," Judal says, interrupting his thoughts. "Also, the pizza is here and I don't want to talk to the delivery guy."

"Really, Judal?"

He shrugs. "Come on, put that down and go get the door. I even got veggies on your half," he says, pulling a face.

"That's actually quite thoughtful."

"I'm a fucking delight."

Hakuryuu gets up and stretches, trying to shake out his stiff limbs before he gets the pizza. The apartment is too much of a mess to sit in the dining room, so Judal leads them to the spare bedroom.

"It's the cleanest room in the house right now," Judal says by way of explanation, gesturing at the only slightly cleaner room. "Well, except my bedroom, but it would have to be at _least_ the third date before you're allowed in there."

He's not sure how to respond to that, so he just ignores it and tries to find a place to sit. Hakuryuu ends up wedged on a rickety futon with the pizza on a bean bag chair in front of him, Judal settling for the floor without complaint.

"You need to relax," Judal says around a bite of pizza.

"You need to clean your house," Hakuryuu counters, and Judal laughs.

"You do have a point," he admits. "But so do I. You're way too tense and stressed out."

"I like to be prepared for every situation-"

"No, with trying to feel magic. You're thinking too hard and getting yourself all work up. You should try not doing that."

Hakuryuu ignores him for the time being, instead focusing on his lunch. Judal's advice is too vague to be useful.

Surprisingly, Judal takes the hint and drops the subject, so lunch passes in comfortable silence. It should have been a warning sign to Hakuryuu though, since Judal isn't quiet without a purpose.

After eating, Hakuryuu cleans up the leftovers as best he can before heading back to the living room. He settles back on the couch, music box in his hands. This time, he's going to-

"Nope!" Judal interrupts him again, plucking the box from his hands. "I'm gonna give you some one on one help." He plops down on the couch next to Hakuryuu, making himself comfortable.

"Judal-"

"Close your eyes and relax."

"I can't just relax on command."

"Do I have to remove the stick from your ass? Don't worry, I'll be gentle."

"Judal!" Hakuryuu snaps, his cheeks flushed.

"Just close your eyes and sit back, okay?"

He takes a deep breath and slowly exhales, trying to calm himself. "Alright." Hakuryuu shuts his eyes and focuses on his breathing. He can feel the solid warmth of Judal's leg pressed against his own and he can hear the slight buzzing of the lights in the room, but still, nothing feels different.

They sit quietly, Judal somehow sitting still next to him, until finally, Hakuryuu can almost feel himself relaxing. Nothing else feels different but he feels like he's unwinding slowly, now that he isn't stuck trying to focus on one item.

"You could feel the magic when you signed our contract, right?" Judal asks softly, voice barely above a whisper so as to not disturb the gentle peace they've finally achieved. Hakuryuu nods, and Judal shifts slightly, probably trying to contain his glee. "And when I was getting rid of the curse, too?"

"Yes," he answers. "When you held my hands, I could feel...something different about you. It was hard to put into words."

"See, you've already felt magic, but those both involved you so it's not entirely surprising." Judal pauses and shifts a little more to get comfortable, before dropping the conversation to let them sit in silence again. Still, nothing seems to have changed, until-

There's a sudden emptiness to the room, like some overpowering force has left, and Hakuryuu would think it was Judal if he couldn't still feel him squished against him on couch.

"What- did something change?"

"Ahh, I had a feeling that would work," Judal says, sounding pleased with himself. "I'm quite powerful, you know? So I just hid my magic and you can tell something's missing."

"It feels...empty in here, somehow."

Judal leans into him a little more, putting something in his hands. It's the music box from earlier, familiar, but now something about it feels different. It's not much still, just a subtle thrum from it, but it's _there_.

"I can feel something now," Hakuryuu admits. "It doesn't feel like much, though."

"Well, yeah, it's just got a small calming charm on it. Which actually makes it even more impressive that you couldn't relax earlier! Eventually you're gonna have to work out how to pick up on magic without getting distracted by mine, but this is good progress."

"Thank you for the help," he tells Judal. It's strange and a little silly, but he's quite proud of himself.

"It's for my benefit too," Judal says softly, leaning away from him. The couch shifts as Judal gets up, and Hakuryuu opens his eyes to watch him get back to work. He feels almost lonely now, without Judal sitting next to him, and Hakuryuu isn't sure how he feels about that.

Hakuryuu turns back to his work, trying not to dwell, and the strange moment passes. But for the rest of the evening, the music box makes him think of Judal's touch.


	6. Chapter 6

a lot of shit happens this chapter! ;D like, finally getting into the meat of some plot, instead of just messing around with the beginnings of magic in Judal's shop~ I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

The more Hakuryuu learns about recognizing magic, the more he comes to understand Judal's seemingly nonsensical methods for running his shop.

It starts small, just the lightest feeling from walking past an item in the front of the shop. But one day Judal catches his eyes and asks him to point out a few magical items in the room. From then on, they'll fill slow days with simple tests, getting more challenging as the days and weeks go on.

' _Is this helpful, dangerous, or neutral?'_ Judal will ask, eyes bright as he waits for Hakuryuu's answers. ' _How about this, is there a specific spell placed on it, or is it just covered in magical residue?'_

Hakuryuu wonders what Judal has planned for him when he finishes organizing his paperwork, but the magical training has slowed him down enough that there's no real end in sight, for now. He enjoys being in the shop, watching Judal work, and he's not sure how to feel about that.

Judal buys items from people, and at first his prices seemed even more arbitrary and random than what he sells things for. But as Hakuryuu learns, he starts to see the reasoning behind what Judal pays out, and what he passes on. Though occasionally, he thinks Judal just buys things because they're pretty.

He's taking a break from organizing paperwork to dust and clean some of the shelves in the front room while Judal helps another customer. Business has been picking up lately, just as Judal said it would, and Hakuryuu doesn't want to let the mess get any worse than it already is. If he doesn't do it, Judal certainly won't, and no one wants to shop somewhere with dust caked in every corner.

Hakuryuu isn't skilled yet, not by far, but even he can recognize a cursed item when it's so powerful. When the door opens, Judal pauses mid sentence with his customer, and Hakuryuu glances over. It's almost a punch to the gut at first, the wrongness surrounding whatever this new customer is carrying, and it's relieving that Judal looks just as uncomfortable.

"Excuse me for just a moment," Judal says to his current customer. "My assistant would be happy to help you if you have any further questions."

Hakuryuu sets down his cleaning supplies and brushes himself off. Judal rarely has him help customers, especially alone, but something is definitely amiss. Thankfully, the customer mostly wants to look at a bunch of small pieces for a while, leaving Hakuryuu free to listen to Judal and the new customer.

"You buy antiques, right?" he asks Judal.

"Of course, sir, It all depends on what you're trying sell." Judal's eyes are on the paper bag in the customer's hands, though his interest wouldn't be obvious to anyone who wasn't familiar with Judal.

"I see. Well, my wife bought this at a garage sale, and...I don't really like it."

Judal leads him over to the counter, nodding along the whole time. "Mm, I understand. Well, let me have a look at it and I'll see if I can't take it off your hands."

The customer finally pulls it out of his bag and it's almost ridiculous how nondescript it is. Hakuryuu can't quite see all of it, but it looks like a slim book, maybe-

"How much is this?" the other customer asks him, holding up a small gilded picture frame. He glances at Judal before taking it from her. It doesn't _feel_ magical, which means Judal shouldn't be upset if he gives it a price on his own.

"Seven dollars," he tells her, and she looks satisfied. "Can I help you with anything else, ma'am?"

She shakes her head, moving to browse some more and freeing up Hakuryuu's attention again. Judal is still talking to his customer, a bland smile plastered on his face. "I can give you twenty-five for it," Judal says. "It's not in the best condition, but it's quite old."

Hakuryuu cringes a bit at the price, since it does look to be just an old paperback book. But it's obviously magic, in a strange way, and he's not surprised that Judal wants it.

"That's fine," the customer agrees, and Judal pulls out one of the basic store policy contracts and a pen.

"I'll just need your name and a phone number for bookkeeping purposes, and then you'll need to sign the bottom. It's to say that you understand all sales are final."

He signs hurriedly. "I don't want it back. My wife hasn't been the same since she got it. I know that sounds weird, but…"

Judal nods before handing over the cash for it. "I understand. I'm glad I could help you out, then." He pauses, seemingly pulling a jar of hard candy from nowhere, and offers the customer a piece. "Candy?"

"Oh, yes. Thank you."

"Have a nice evening, sir," Judal says as he leaves, calm and polite to the end. As soon as the door shuts, he jerks his head at Hakuryuu, gesturing for him. Hakuryuu glances at the other customer before he walks over to meet Judal at the counter.

"I have to take care of this," Judal says quietly. "As long as nothing she's getting is magical, I trust you to handle it."

"Alright," he agrees, nodding. "Is it cursed?"

Judal looks frustrated. "That's what I thought, but...something's weird about it. You can tell, can't you?"

"Yes. It's why you overpaid for it."

Judal shoots him a pleased grin. "I knew you could learn." His expression darkens and he carefully picks up the book. "Close up when she's done. I'll be in the office."

Hakuryuu nods again and Judal makes his way into the office, closing the door behind him. He's left to watch the store, silently hoping that no one else comes in while the current customer slowly finishes up her shopping. Maybe it's just because he's here everyday, but Hakuryuu cannot understand how anyone could take this long to decide what they want.

She finally finishes up and he patiently cashes her out, one eye still on the office door. He politely leads her out and breathes a sigh of relief as he flips the sign to closed and locks the door. Hakuryuu shuts off a few lights to make it more clear that they're closed for the day before making his way to the office.

Judal has the book suspended in the air, and he's turning it over and poking at it with his wand. He barely glances up when Hakuryuu comes in, but he does nod slightly to acknowledge him.

"Any progress?" Hakuryuu asks.

Judal shakes his head. "Not much, but I'm being careful. I did figure out that its magical aura is masked, so I'm impressed that you could pick up on it."

"Really?"

"Mmhm. Don't touch it, though. It's leaking some sort of magical...infection, I guess would be a good term for it. That guy was contaminated with it from just bringing it here, though it wasn't a full blown infection. It's why I gave him that candy."

Hakuryuu sits down to watch Judal work. "I had a feeling it wasn't just candy."

Judal chuckles. "You _are_ getting to know me. It's just enough of a spell to diffuse what was clinging to him, but I'm wondering about that wife he mentioned."

"He said she wasn't acting normal."

"Yeah, I wonder if it's important." Judal leans back and Hakuryuu realizes that he's floating, practically lounging on air now. What a strange man. "Anyway, I'll be at this for a while, so you can go home for the night."

"Are you sure?"

"I don't want you to get infected with this," Judal says. "Especially since I still don't know everything about it. I don't wanna have to race the clock to save you or whatever."

"But you'll be fine?" Hakuryuu asks dubiously.

"I'm pretty well protected against magic," he says proudly. "So you don't need to worry."

"I'm not worried."

"Cold!" Judal leans forward again, going back to poking the book. "There's a spare key in the register, in the far back of the drawer, so feel free to take it and lock up."

Hakuryuu nods. "Good luck."

Judal doesn't look up this time, too enraptured by trying to work out the magical mysteries in front of him. "Thanks."

x･x･x

Usually, Hakuryuu waits for Judal to text him the opening time for the day, but as the day goes on without a message, he begins to worry. He finally makes the decision to head out anyway, stopping by a hardware store to get a copy of the spare key made first so that he'll have his own from now on.

The store is still locked when Hakuryuu arrives, so he lets himself in. Everything _looks_ normal enough; all the lights are still off, save for the emergency ones. He heads for the office and carefully pushes the door open, looking for answers.

Judal is curled up in a chair, half covered in a blanket and looking oddly comfortable despite his position. Yesterday's makeup is mess; one of his eyebrows looks significantly thinner than the other and there's purple eyeshadow smeared across one cheek. The book is sitting on the desk, still feeling aggressively wrong.

He can't touch it, and he doesn't quite want to disturb Judal, but he also can't let the man sleep the day away. Hakuryuu shakes his shoulder lightly, and Judal groans. He tries to pull away from Hakuryuu, curling further into his blanket, so he shakes Judal again.

"...what?" he finally asks groggily, eyes still squeezed shut.

"Good afternoon," Hakuryuu says. "I'm here to wake you up."

Judal groans again. "Why do you hate me?"

"It's almost 3 o'clock, Judal."

"Ugghhh…" He finally sits up, losing the rest of his blanket in the process. Somehow in the night he lost his shirt, too, and is now wearing a loose fitting vest. Hakuryuu is just glad he's still wearing pants. "Okay. Yeah, I slept in a little late. Bring me some coffee."

"From where?"

Judal shrugs. "The place down the street, the one with all the pastries. I want donuts. Just...take some cash from the register, okay?"

When he returns, Judal is looking slightly more awake. He's washed off his makeup at least, leaving his face looking stark and naked instead of obviously messy.

"Coffeeeeee," he says happily, reaching for the cup.

"I got you donuts, too, and I made sure to use the sweetest creamer in your coffee, don't worry," Hakuryuu tells him, handing them over. Judal's face lights up even more, and it's nice to see how pleased he is.

He lets Judal wake up more, slowly sipping his own coffee until Judal seems properly caffeinated and fed. "Did you make any progress last night?" Hakuryuu asks.

"Of _course_ I made progress! I'm the best!" Judal practically puffs up. "I don't have it dismantled yet, but that's only because I'm still using it. It infects people with...some kind of magical residue, nothing noticeable at first, but it slowly takes them over until they're ready to snap to violence at a moment's notice. I don't really know how it's doing it yet, or how violent it'll make someone, but I found some news stories about people lashing out and hurting other people close to them. It's just the-" he pauses, yawning widely, before reaching for a donut. "The basics, but I was too fucking tired to work out anything else last night."

"But it's all coming from this?" Hakuryuu asks, gesturing at the book.

Judal shakes his head. "I don't think so. That's why I haven't removed the magic from it yet. I was gonna track it…" he trails off. "I think that's when I fell asleep."

"I see."

He stretches, yawning again. "That chair was _not_ comfortable. Ugh."

Hakuryuu takes his empty coffee cup and throws it away, before Judal can accidentally lose it in the shop like so many of his other disposable containers. "I can open up while you get ready."

"Mm, thank you. I shouldn't be long, but...shit, is it really that late?"

"This is why I came looking for you," Hakuryuu tells him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm an irresponsible business owner and you're so mature, I got it," Judal teases, but his expression is grateful.

"I'll take care of it so you aren't seen looking almost normal," Hakuryuu teases back, and Judal laughs.

"That's the real reason I'm having you open up: no one can see me without makeup." He pulls a sweatshirt out of the back closet and makes his way out of the shop, leaving Hakuryuu alone.

Hakuryuu takes his time opening up, even though he knows Judal isn't this meticulous. He turns on all the lights and balances the register, pulling cash from yesterday's deposit to make up for the coffee and donut expenses. He'll have to sort out the paperwork for that later, but he'll wait for Judal to be here to run the store. Once he's satisfied, he finally flips the sign to open.

It's quiet, giving him another chance to get some cleaning done while waiting for Judal. His thoughts are on the strange book though, and everything that Judal told him about it. He wants to puzzle out the mystery around it.

"Yo, it's really looking good in here," Judal declares as he walks in. He's once again looking like himself, perfectly made up and well dressed in flashy clothes and shining jewelry.

"I've been trying."

"Well, I can tell. Thank you," Judal says, sidling up to him. "But as much as I'd love to watch you clean all day, I think you might be able to help me better in another way."

Hakuryuu tries to ignore how close Judal is, his soft breath against his neck, and grips his roll of paper towels. "What is it?"

"I'd like you to look over the news stories I found and see if _you_ can work anything else out. I was thinking about it all while getting dressed, but I think I've burnt myself out on it," Judal tells him.

He nods, slipping away from Judal to head toward the office. He can hear Judal following him from the soft clink of jewelry as he moves, and Hakuryuu doesn't know why his close proximity has been making him so nervous lately. For now he has something else to focus on, so he files that thought away for another day.

Judal touches the book with his wand and murmurs under his breath. It glows slightly before fading away, and he grins at Hakuryuu. "There you go. Now it shouldn't affect you."

"Thank you," he replies, making his way over to the desk.

"Lemme know if you find anything interesting. Or useful."

Hakuryuu pulls out a notebook and pencil, and he really wishes he had his laptop with him. His phone will still work, but it would be much easier with a bigger screen. "I will. If _you_ think of anything else-"

"I'll tell you," Judal assures him, heading out. "You know, it's an old book of poetry. It's not even anything particularly rare, just a silly little book."

He looks at the battered book, and it really is quite innocuous. "Is the poetry any good?"

Judal laughs. "I dunno, I wasn't focused on that part! It isn't related to the spell on it, that's for sure."

"Well, I'm not going to read it. I have other things to work on," Hakuryuu says, settling in at the desk, and Judal leaves him be.

He loses track of time in the windowless back office, poring over articles and police reports on his phone. There's so much violence daily that it's hard to decide what's important and what's just regular crime. Hours pass, probably, but he's so lost in his work that he barely notices.

"I brought chicken nuggets, cause everyone loves nuggies," Judal says. He's carrying a fast food bag and more coffee, and Hakuryuu is so grateful. "I locked up for the night, but you looked like you were still working."

"Thanks," Hakuryuu says, taking a coffee from him. "I think I'm close to something, but...there's a lot violent crime, so it's hard to tell what is relevant."

"People are assholes," Judal says simply, pulling up a chair next to him so they can share the nuggets. "But I have faith in you."

"Why?"

"Because you're smart, and you're good at problem solving. I've been watching you figure out magic, you know, and not everyone can catch on like you did," he answers. "Now eat some dinner and tell me about the violence in our city."

Hakuryuu nods and gestures at his work. "Help yourself."

Judal looks over some of his papers, tapping a pen against the desk. "This is so organized."

"I am good at that, as you like to remind me," Hakuryuu says, pointing at some of the articles he highlighted. "These seemed unnatural, or at least enough against the norm that I wanted to make note of them."

"Oh, fancy." Judal nearly spills ketchup on his papers, and Hakuryuu takes them away from him, glaring.

"It won't do much good if you ruin them," he snaps. "I'm going to bring my laptop tomorrow so I can put these in a spreadsheet."

Judal looks pleased. "You know, I almost feel like I should be paying you, you're so talented."

"I'd feel so spoiled," Hakuryuu says sarcastically. "But I do appreciate the chicken nuggets. And the coffee."

"Damn right you better appreciate them!" Judal says, laughing. "Come on, relax for a little while you're eating, at least. You can come back to it tomorrow."

x･x･x

The next morning, Judal looks as bright and cheerful as always. He's got his phone out at the counter and he only looks up from it briefly to wave at Hakuryuu.

"Good morning," he tells Judal, heading to the office to get out his laptop and get to work.

"Come back out here," Judal calls after him, so Hakuryuu settles for putting his bag down on the desk for now.

"What are you up to?" he asks.

"Looking up gruesome news stories from the past few days!" he answers enthusiastically. "I figured we could see if there's any fresh blood."

"That's a bit morbid, but a good idea."

"Right? I'm pretty much a genius," he says, going back to scrolling through his phone. "Oh, what's this? 'A crime of passion', that sounds fun." Judal taps on the link, still cheerful, only for the color to drain from his face.

"Judal?"

He doesn't answer, instead handing his phone over. Hakuryuu looks at the opened news report and swallows deeply. "That's the man who sold you the book," he says unnecessarily.

"I know," Judal says hollowly. "Found dead late last night, with his wife covered in his blood and laughing."

The room feels too small and tight, the air heavy as they stand in awkward silence. Judal is uncharacteristically quiet and Hakuryuu doesn't know what to say, and it seems to stretch on endlessly.

"Fucking _bullshit_!" Judal yells, and a few of the lightbulbs around him shatter. "I hate trying to help people!"

Hakuryuu feels bad, obviously, but something from the murder stuck out. The murderer was found laughing, which he'd seen in a couple of the reports yesterday. Judal is still throwing a bit of a frustrated temper tantrum, but that's fine. He has work to do.

"Where are you going?" Judal snaps.

"I have an idea," he says, heading to the office.

"You can't bring back the dead."

"I- Why would you think that was my idea?"

He shrugs. "Just wanted to make sure you knew."

Hakuryuu nods and goes back to the office, pulling out his notes from yesterday. He's very glad he set up an organization system for them; it shouldn't take long to find all the abnormal ones he's thinking about.

Perfect. He pulls up a spreadsheet on his laptop and starts filling in the details. If he can put all the crimes that fit this new criteria in here, then maybe he can find something else that ties them all together.

Judal wanders in a few hours later, looking calm and composed again. "Making progress?"

"I think so," he says. "I've narrowed it down to less crimes, but there's still a lot to go through. They don't seem to use the same method in more than one or two, though they are all pretty messed up."

Judal slinks over, leaning against his shoulder to look at his laptop. "How so?"

Hakuryuu opens a few of the individual documents to show Judal. He's working on one for each case, with details and pictures as he finds them. "There's another case of spousal murder, but they were strangled to death instead of stabbed. Here's a man who stabbed all of his friends on a weekend trip, and one of them barely survived by pretending to be dead. He says the laughter from his friend while he murdered them one by one still haunts him." He moves onto another file and he can feel Judal shudder next to him. "A young child killed both his parents and was found incoherently laughing in what was left of them. And a girl who attempted to murder everyone in her sorority, and had to be shot to stop her rampage."

"Yikes," Judal says, leaning forward for a better view. He pokes at one of the pictures, pulling a face. "That's gross."

"I know. Please don't touch the screen," he says, swatting Judal's hand away.

"Whatever," he says flippantly. "Anything else?"

Hakuryuu shakes his head. "I feel like there must be something, since you said that book was causing some sort of infection. So each of the murderers would probably have to be contaminated somehow, sort of like passing on the flu, maybe?"

Judal nods. "It's a good theory."

"Thank you. I'm still working on the exact details, though," he says, gesturing at his still unfinished work. "I'll let you know when I'm done."

"Sounds good," Judal says, chipper again, and he finally leans out of Hakuryuu's personal space.

Hakuryuu never thought he'd spend so much time on social media, but here he is, digging through every friend and follower list, trying to connect the murderers and victims together. Judal has wandered in and out, complaining about the slow day and failing to offer anything but unhelpful commentary.

Eventually, Judal drags him away from his work to get late night fast food, and he only pretends to not be grateful.

"Sometimes I think you just like my car," Hakuryuu tells him, cringing as Judal nearly spills fries everywhere.

He nods enthusiastically, and this time he does drop a few fries. "I mean, you have other skills, but did you know they won't let you go through the drive thru without a car? It's fucking bullshit!"

"I'm sure it's a safety issue."

"But they also close their dining rooms too early," he whines, gesturing with a fry. "It's a conspiracy."

Hakuryuu shakes his head. "Maybe you just keep a strange schedule."

"Whatever, now I've got you to ferry me around. It's very convenient."

"You're welcome. Now please stop making a mess of my car, or I won't let you in it anymore."

Judal whines and petulantly tosses a napkin in the footwell. "You're so cruel."

"I drove you here and I've been working all day. At this point, I have a terrible headache from staring at a screen for so long."

"You should take a break for the night then. Not that I'm one to talk about irresponsible sleep schedules, but-"

"I'll think better with more sleep, I know. I just feel like I'm so close to something…"

"Then keep working. But don't sleep in the chair, I'm serious about that. My back still hurts from the other night."

He finishes his soda, considering Judal's advice. He really should go home for the night; it's not like he's really going to make much progress tonight at this rate.

x･x･x

Hakuryuu looks over his graph, pleased. He finally has everyone connected somehow, perfect lines drawn between each event. Now that it's complete, he can tell Judal.

"Judal," he says. "When you have a free moment, I have something to show you."

Judal glances at the few customers browsing the shop and back at Hakuryuu. "Is it important?"

"I've got everything connected," he says. "I can give you my work, but I'd rather go over it with you."

He nods. "I'll deal with these people then. Just go sit tight and wait for me; I shouldn't be long."

Hakuryuu disappears back into the office, and, true to his word, Judal joins him quickly, looking calm but pleased.

Hakuryuu laughs. "What did you do, kick them out?"

Judal grins. "You know the saying 'If you have to ask, you can't afford it?' I just priced everything way out of their budget until they left."

"You can be such a menace."

Judal pulls up a chair and straddles it. "I know! Now tell me about this!"

"So this is how the first victim knew their murderer," he says, pointing as he goes. "And eventually it made its way to this woman, who hosted a garage sale a few weeks ago to raise funds for her cousin's funeral. I think that's where the book came from; it was even in the same neighborhood that the last victim lived in."

Judal looks over his graph and notes as Hakuryuu talks, face oddly blank. "I see," he finally says. "Good work."

"Thank you. I think that traces it back to its source, unless there are some older murders I didn't find."

"You've been hard at work," Judal tells him, and it sounds like real praise. "We should go check it out."

"Right now?" Hakuryuu looks shocked.

"Nah, it's a little late in the day. But I can close up tomorrow."

Hakuryuu eyes him strangely. "Why?"

"So we can get rid of it, duh." Judal sets down the paper he was looking at and goes to leave. "Do you have any idea where else it spread?"

"No."

"Well, maybe I can help with that one. I did want to use the book to try to track things." He pauses, looking thoughtful. "Do you wanna watch the shop for a bit?"

"Oh, you trust me to now?"

"You're not an idiot. Just grab me if someone wants something magical."

Hakuryuu nods. "Good luck."

Judal pulls out his wand and shoos him out of the room. "Yeah, and I'll need it. Now go get to work out there!"

Lucky for Hakuryuu, the shop stays slow as afternoon fades to evening, until he realizes that he hasn't heard anything from Judal for hours. He's not sure if he should be worried. Eventually, he decides to check up on him, and knocks firmly on the office door.

"Come in," he answers. Judal has the book floating again and there's a black mess surrounding it, thin veins twisting and splitting off like a distorted map made of spiderwebs.

Hakuryuu keeps his distance and waits for Judal to explain it. He continues working though, turning the book over with his wand and slowly drawing more out, and with each step it looks more and more like a proper map.

"Judal?"

"Hmm? Did you need something?"

"I was just wondering how you were doing."

He grins, finally looking up from his work. "I've gotten it to listen to me. Do you see this?"

"I do," Hakuryuu says, hesitantly making his way closer. "What is it?"

Judal looks ecstatic, gesturing wildly with his wand. "I used it to track anything else in the area with the same magical signature. I mean, a lot of it has been a little bitch to do because it's all trying to keep hidden, but I finally figured out a way around all that bullshit."

"And so this is a map?"

"Exactly! We'll hit up the darkest spots on it, since those have the strongest magical residue. And then hopefully we can kick some fucking ass!" Judal is practically vibrating with glee, impossibly balanced on his chair and pointing wildly. "I think one of these points line up with the original source you found, so we're gonna check that out first."

Hakuryuu looks at the spiraling map, suspended in air, and Judal's excited face. Something still seems weird, though; something has been bugging him for days now. "Why are you doing this?"

Judal cocks his head. "Hm?"

"You're putting a lot of work into solving this problem, and you don't strike me as a selfless man."

"I can be good," he argues, looking affronted. Hakuryuu raises an eyebrow and Judal continues. "I'm sure _you_ don't want to believe it, but I _like_ helping people and beating up bad guys. I mean, mostly it's the beating things up part, but whatever. It's still a good deed."

"If you say so."

"I _do_ say so. Don't be jealous that I do it for free; you got yourself into your trouble, and it wasn't even exciting to fix. This sounds like fun!"

He frowns. "I'm not jealous."

Judal just grins at him some more. "Just be prepared for tomorrow! I'm excited."


	7. Chapter 7

more action! there's a lot of shit that goes down this chapter (again!) and I had fun with it ;D enjoy!

* * *

Judal shows up at his apartment this time, coffee in hand and a messenger bag slung over his shoulder. He looks oddly casual in jeans and a t-shirt, though he's still wearing makeup.

"What are you doing here?" Hakuryuu asks, confused and mildly upset. This is ruining his morning routine.

"Good morning to you too," he answers, but his expression stays cheerful. "I thought it'd be better to just meet you here."

Hakuryuu opens the door, letting Judal in. At least now he can show off how clean he usually keeps his home, rather than the horrible mess it was last time. That almost feels like a lifetime ago, even though logically he knows it hasn't been that long. "I didn't think you remembered where I lived," he settles on saying.

"'Course I do. We've been here to get your car a couple times," he says, flopping on the couch. "Jeez, it looks way better in here! You have such a fancy place."

"Thank you," he says graciously. "I'm sure yours could look better-"

"I've tried," Judal cuts him off. "Cleanliness just isn't my strong point, you should know that by now."

Hakuryuu shakes his head before he goes back to finishing the last of his breakfast. "I also didn't expect you to be ready so early."

"Couldn't sleep," Judal explains. "But all the progress I made'll make everything a breeze."

"Is that wise?"

"Being prepared is a great idea! Usually I just go in and hit things until they break, but I feel like you've been a good influence on me."

Hakuryuu sighs, taking his plate to the kitchen to clean up. "I meant not sleeping."

"Oh, that's nothing. I don't really believe in sleep."

"Everyone needs to sleep, Judal."

"Whatever," he says petulantly. "Are you ready yet?"

"I just need to start the dishwasher before we head out."

He whines loudly. "Fine!"

Judal is still a manic ball of energy when they get to the car and Hakuryuu has no idea how he's so peppy. He kind of wishes he wasn't, because it's making it difficult to follow his directions. Judal's not good at being a navigator and his poor sense of direction takes them all over, instead of a direct route.

"Are we lost?" Hakuryuu finally asks, getting frustrated.

"No," Judal says. "We're just taking my route. We're following unstable magic, you know."

"If we're going to the source I found, I have an address for it. We don't need to-"

"Shh. I've got this under control."

"Do you?"

"Turn there!" Judal says loudly. "Right there!"

Hakuryuu barely makes the turn, tires squealing at the sudden change in direction, and he silently curses Judal. It takes them up a largely unmarked road with trees bordering each side, untamed and forgotten. It was obviously well planned and taken care of at one point, which makes its current state a bit sad.

Judal's peering out the window as they drive, seemingly enthralled by the passing scenery. They lapse into silence until Hakuryuu sees a house looming in the distance.

"Is this it?"

"Look like it," Judal says, whistling. "Yeesh, this place looks like shit."

"It looks abandoned," Hakuryuu says, slowly pulling around to the front and parking. He isn't sure what they're looking for, but the air feels wrong, similar to how the book did at first.

"And it feels like it isn't," Judal tells him, clambering out of the car. "Come on!"

Hakuryuu follows him to the house, hesitantly picking his way across the jagged concrete of the driveway. The wide porch sags on one side and it audibly creaks when Judal climbs the stairs. He pushes on the door with confidence that quickly turns to frustration when it doesn't open.

"Are you having trouble?" Hakuryuu asks, carefully making his way up onto the porch.

"Honestly, I didn't expect it to be locked," Judal whines. "Guess we're doing this the fun way!"

"What?"

Judal pulls out his wand, aims it at the door, and his grin widens so much that Hakuryuu is legitimately concerned. "Stand back!"

"Wait-" he tries to say, but a barrage of ice spears fly at the door, splintering and cracking the old wood. With a horrible groan, the last remains of the door fall away and Judal steps through.

He looks back at Hakuryuu, a cocky grin on his face. "Coming?"

Hakuryuu follows his lead, frowning the whole time. "Was that really necessary?"

"Maybe!" Judal answers, shrugging.

"You have no idea how to be subtle," Hakuryuu tells him, looking around the dim room.

"Thank you!" Judal says cheerfully.

"It wasn't a compliment."

"I chose to take it as one, and that's what's important." He pauses, observing the room carefully. "Upstairs, I think."

"Do you think the stairs will support us?"

Judal shrugs. "If not, I'll fly you up, don't worry." He leads the way through a few more rooms, and everything smells of decay and disrepair. They reach a sprawling grand staircase, obviously beautiful once, but now a crumbled rotting thing. Judal tests the first few steps fearlessly before he motions for Hakuryuu to follow.

The stairs creak and sway, but are thankfully still sturdy enough to hold them the whole way up. The hallway, however, is riddled with holes; the rotted carpeting does nothing to hide that. Judal pauses before moving forward, feet leaving the ground to float over the missing floor.

"Judal?" Hakuryuu calls out. He's not risking falling through the floor for this.

"Hm?" He looks over his shoulder and at least has the decency to look somewhat ashamed. "Shit, sorry! I forgot you, huh?"

"Well, I'm not going to break my neck while you fly away unharmed."

Judal laughs, offering Hakuryuu a hand. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Don't worry, I got you."

He grips Judal's hand tightly, and, like always, it's somewhat overwhelming how powerful he is. Even with the thick magic hanging in the air, Judal shines through, powerful and dangerous in his own way. And then it's almost as if the ground falls away beneath him as he's pulled closer to Judal, and he feels almost weightless.

Judal tugs on his hand, leading him down the hall. "I'll take you flying for fun later," he promises, and there's a soft fondness in his voice for a reason Hakuryuu can't quite place. But it's ignored for now, filed away for later because they have more pressing issues to worry about. The hallway seems to warp with magic and Hakuryuu is grateful for the steady grip from Judal's hand. It's something to focus on that isn't anger and hatred, and Hakuryuu doesn't have to think about fire and his family and-

"Hakuryuu." Judal's voice cuts through his thoughts. "I think I've found something."

They're in front of a door that looks fresh and new, looking out of place compared to the decrepit walls around it. Judal grabs the gilded doorknob and turns it, and there's a momentary look of surprise on his face when it opens.

The room looks almost normal at first, more preserved than the rest of the house, and they can see how opulent it must have been when it was maintained. The walls are hung with thick silks and everything is gilded and covered in filigree. It exudes elegance and-

"Hey, there's someone in here," Judal says, dragging Hakuryuu into the room to investigate.

It's like a room frozen in time, and Hakuryuu can feel the wrongness intensify as they make their way further in. He wonders how Judal is still so calm. Practice and experience, probably. The floor is solid and whole, and he drops Hakuryuu's hand once he realizes it's safe.

"Heeeeeyyyy!" Judal calls out once he's closer. "Are you friendly or rude?"

No answer. Hakuryuu glances at Judal and he shrugs, moving closer still. The figure is unflinchingly facing a window, the only one with its heavy curtains drawn open.

"Okay look, I'm not gonna sit around and play nice all day. Are you the one that's fucking people up or what?" When they don't respond, Judal stomps closer. "Hey, I'm talking to you here!"

"Judal, maybe you shouldn't be so rude," Hakuryuu tries to reason with him, joining him by the window. Upon closer inspection, he can see that the figure appears to be a young woman, wrapped in a dark robe.

"I do what I want," he snaps, brandishing his wand. "Do you hear that?"

Judal reaches out to shake her shoulder and his hand passes right through her. This, apparently, is enough to disturb her, and she finally turns to look at them. Her robe falls away, revealing pale green hair and a soft pink headdress, but something about it doesn't look right. She looks muted and fuzzy, as though she's started to decay like the rest of the house.

She's staring at Judal's wand intently, though her expression is still placid. "Who are you?" she asks, voice quiet but firm.

Judal shoots her a cocky smirk. "I am the Great Sorcerer Judal," he announces proudly. "And this is my less impressive assistant, Hakuryuu."

"You're a magician," she says, low and threatening. Gone is the polite face, replaced with a deep anger, and Hakuryuu braces himself for the worst. "You have no right to show your evil face here."

"You're turning people into murderers, but _I'm_ the evil one here? I don't think so!" Judal raises his wand and shoots and ice spear at her, only for it to fly right through her and shatter against a wall. Judal frowns and backs up some, and Hakuryuu follows his lead. He murmurs some incomprehensible words, flicks his wand, and the air shimmers in front of them.

"Stay here," he tells Hakuryuu, grinning. "You're not gonna be much help."

The girl turns and Hakuryuu can finally get a good look at her. She's dressed in such finery that he would think she's some sort of royalty if she wasn't in an abandoned building. "How dare you!" she yells. "I am Dunya Musta'sim, the last true princess of my home country, and I will not be attacked by a filthy mage."

"Fuck you, I don't live in a decrepit shack. _You're_ the filthy one!"

She pulls a blackened scepter from her robes and gestures at them. "Mages like you destroyed my home and murdered whoever they wanted for their own greed. You're disgusting creatures."

Judal rolls his eyes. "Whatever, lady," he says dismissively before brandishing his wand again.

Shadows crawl across the floor and raise up, turning into something solid to wrap around Judal's ankles. He glances down angrily. "Hey! Get off!"

He shoots some sort of dangerous looking spell at them and they dissipate for a moment. Another tendril tightens around his wrist until he cries out and drops his wand. Hakuryuu watches it clatter across the floor and behind another writhing mess of shadow as Judal struggles, screeching obscenities the whole time. He's not powerless without his wand; Hakuryuu has seen him do little things without it before. But it's not just for show, either.

Judal eventually pulls free of the shadows, twisting almost impossibly to slip through them. He can't reach his wand, so he just he'll just fight without it for now. He weaves a spell in his hand, energy glowing at his fingertips, and Dunya turns her attention to him.

Hakuryuu looks at the shimmering air in front of him, considering his options. Dunya seems focused on Judal for now, twisting the air around herself to deflect any spells he flings at her. He can see Judal's wand from where he is, but he's fairly certain Judal's protective shield won't follow him there. Hakuryuu to decides to risk it, rolling across the floor while Dunya is distracted. When his fingers close around the wand, Hakuryuu can feel something resonate within him. The metal feels warm to touch, almost friendly, and he has one goal: get it back to Judal.

He dodges more creeping tendrils, trying to keep himself safe and out of sight as he makes his way to Judal. He's almost in the clear, but Dunya sees him before he can quite make it over. The ceiling cracks and warps until there's a dark sky overhead, and the rolling clouds harden into swords, poised to rain down on them, and he doesn't have time to be subtle anymore.

"Judal!" he yells.

Judal turns, and his face brightens when he sees the wand in Hakuryuu's hand. "You got it! Thanks!"

Hakuryuu runs over, passing off the wand, and it pulses in his hand when Judal grabs it. There's a brief flash of something indescribable on Judal's face, but then it's gone, replaced with determination. For all his usual casual attitude, Hakuryuu has to admit that he's impressive when he puts his mind to it, practically radiating power.

"You wanna fight? I'll give you a fucking fight!" Judal yells, grinning maniacally. His wand glows and twists into something new, growing and stretching into a dangerous looking staff. He lunges forward and the air crackles around him, lightning shattering some of the swords in the air. Dunya frowns, directing more swords with her scepter, and Judal merely laughs.

"Stupid bitch! I ain't here to get stabbed, not today," he screams, a flurry of ice and lightning and unbridled power as he flies towards her.

Dunya just stares at him, annoyed but unimpressed. "I cannot be hit by your magic, foolish boy. I'm above that."

"Says you!" Judal slams headfirst into her, and there's a shower of sparks as they clash. "I'm better than whatever weakass magicians you dealt with before."

Hakuryuu jumps to avoid an errant sword and turns, trying to find the barrier Judal set up before with no luck. Lightning tears though a wall and Hakuryuu freezes, expecting it to go up in flames. But instead it seems to dissolve, wood splintering into nothing as more magic takes it out.

"You're _dead_ ," Judal tells Dunya, one arm encased in ice as he attempts to land a hit. "You can't just hang around because you're upset about some shit that happened in the past."

"I don't need to hear that from a vain little sorcerer who doesn't want to die. Aren't you a bit past your own lifetime?"

He shrugs, dodging another barrage of swords and deflecting them back at her. "Yeah, but I never let anyone off me!"

She raises her scepter again and everything feels wrong and dizzy, and the room tilts, just slightly. Gravity doesn't feel right, but Judal seems immune. Probably because he's still flying, avoiding her attacks. Hakuryuu grabs hold of a wall as their fight sends the room into a topsy-turvey mess.

Judal is quick and nimble, slipping through more than one close situation. But it's not as random as it looks, Judal's weaving path through shadows and tendrils: Dunya's swords are too slow to catch him, and instead she runs her own spells through, trapping her in a writhing mass of shadows. .

"Got ya!" Judal says triumphantly, and rains down black lightning on the whole mess.

When the smoke clears, Dunya is still standing, but just barely. There room shimmers and Hakuryuu can see peeling wallpaper forming in places as the carpeting fades under his feet.

Judal looks down at her. "Just 'cause you're a ghost doesn't mean I can't hit you. So what's your deal? Maybe if you actually talk, I won't toast your spectral ass."

Dunya sinks down, looking more like a lost girl than a vindictive ghost, but doesn't seem ready to talk. Probably because Judal isn't exactly the most welcoming and comforting.

Now that the room feels almost right again, Hakuryuu makes his way over. "Maybe you shouldn't threaten people and expect them to listen."

Judal jerks his thumb at Dunya. "She attacked us!"

"Do you even know if destroying her would stop the infection?"

Judal looks at him defiantly, but his silence answers the question.

Dunya is silently watching them talk, perhaps considering her next attack. Hakuryuu isn't the best at diplomacy, but he's got to be better than Judal. Maybe he can get her to open up.

"We want to help you," Hakuryuu says, and now that he's said it, it seems like the lamest comfort he could offer. Dunya glowers at him. "You're hurting people."

"You just want to get rid of me," she hisses at Judal. "You're here to finish the job."

"Lady, I have never seen you before in my life."

"Judal!" Hakuryuu wishes he'd just shut up. "The only thing we want to get rid of is the curse that's hurting people. You can't really want people to suffer like this."

"They took everyone I loved, so now everyone can witness their loved ones dying while they're helpless to stop it!" Dunya yells, tears filling her eyes.

"Killing random people won't bring your friends back," Judal says, and there's a raw bit of honesty in his voice that catches Hakuryuu's attention. "What are you even doing here, anyway?"

"They sent me away to get an education here, with servants and a bodyguard for company. I barely saw my parents, but I had Isaac and his mother, and we were happy," Dunya explains. "But there was a war in my homeland while I was away, and magicians seized power in the end. It was- it was a bloody revolt, so I couldn't ever go back. I couldn't even risk going anywhere outside of this property. This felt like a prison, but everyone tried to make me as happy as possible."

Dunya trails off, staring at the scepter in her hands. "They tried...for a long time, but nothing was enough to keep me hidden forever. Eventually someone figured out where I was, and I guess they wanted to finish the job."

"They were probably afraid you'd come back and try to claim the throne," Judal interrupts. "Political shit, you know?"

She glares at him, but continues. "I don't know their exact reasons, but everyone tried to save me, even when it seemed hopeless. Isaac…" Her eyes cloud with tears again, and she stubbornly blinks them away. "I watched them torture him when he wouldn't move aside, even after everyone else was dead. He…" She shakes her head. "Maybe if they'd just given me up, they wouldn't all have died."

Judal opens his mouth, presumably to disagree, and Hakuryuu subtly elbows him.

"And that's all," Dunya says. "I can't ever see anyone I love again and it isn't _fair_ , so no one can-"

"People don't really go throwing massive magical coups anymore," Judal says, and Hakuryuu almost can't believe how rude he is. "Seriously, I would have heard of some giant uprising. How long have you been here?"

She looks lost and frustrated. "Years, decades maybe? I don't know; I can't remember. But you're just here to ruin things!" She turns to face Hakuryuu, brandishing her scepter at him. "Maybe I'll send your little friend after you, then. And his whole family, too-"

"Hakuryuu's not gonna fall for that little trick," Judal says confidently, even as Dunya's eyes flash with rage and power. Hakuryuu's head hurts, like something's trying to rip through it, but the pain fades almost instantly. As his head clears he can hear Dunya screaming in frustration.

"Told you so!" Judal says, laughing.

A beat passes, and Hakuryuu is almost certain that Dunya will attack them again, that nothing they said mattered, but instead she winds back down, curling in on herself as she finally cries. She's nothing more than a victim of fate and bad luck, and as she cries she starts to flicker and fade away. The room withers away with her, curtains rotting and walls crumbling, until there's nothing left but a broken scepter.

Judal plucks it off the ground and carefully slips it into his bag. There's a moment of calm before a splintering creak, and the floor starts to fall apart underneath them.

"Shit!" Judal yells, grabbing Hakuryuu's arm just in time to save him from falling through. He flies them out through a missing window, and they can hear more of the house crumbling apart as they leave.

He deposits them at the car, safely out of the way of the house, and his oversized staff changes back into his usual wand. At Hakuryuu's questioning stare, he just shrugs. "It's easier to carry around this way, even if it doesn't look as cool."

"Do you think she's gone?" Hakuryuu asks, staring up at the mansion. It seems even older now, without Dunya's influence.

"I don't feel her presence anymore, and this book is totally harmless now," Judal answers, leaning up against the car to observe the house as well. "Yeesh, what a little brat."

Hakuryuu joins him at the car, shaking his head. "You have no sympathy for people."

Judal eyes him up. "Do _you_?" he asks, and Hakuryuu feels like he's being tested and judged, though not necessarily in a bad way.

There's a silence, where Hakuryuu considers his options, and Judal changes subjects before he has a chance to answer. "The last true magical uprising I can remember was a couple hundred of years ago, in some little country in Europe somewhere," he tells Hakuryuu. "She looked the part, but this was a new issue."

Hakuryuu nods, thinking that bit of information over. "Maybe she kept getting angrier over time?"

"Maybe," Judal says, but he doesn't sound convinced. They lapse into silence while Judal plays with his phone, and Hakuryuu moves to get into the car when Judal lets out a gleeful noise. "Nope, I got it!" He shoves his phone at Hakuryuu, grinning. "See, they had an estate sale here a few months back. It probably disturbed her."

"That does make some sense."

"Case fucking closed!" Judal looks pleased. "You weren't too shabby back there, especially since you can't even do any magic."

"I just got you your wand," he says, finally getting in the car.

Judal tosses his messenger bag in the backseat and joins him, still smiling. "You did it strategically, though."

Hakuryuu nods. "Of course. But I am wondering...how come she couldn't affect me?"

"I cast a protection spell on you," he says nonchalantly.

"Oh. Well, thank you, I suppose."

Judal just grins at him. "I wasn't sure what to expect in there! So you're welcome. But shit, that kind of wiped me out. Let's go home," he demands, yawning.

"Can I look up directions this time?"

He laughs. "Okay, okay, you can be the navigator. It's not like I have any idea where we are."

Judal falls asleep minutes into the drive, leaving Hakuryuu alone with his thoughts. He keeps thinking back to Dunya and her twisted sense of vengeance, and it hits a little too close to his own feelings to be comfortable. He almost wonders if he would share her fate one day, and he's relieved to finally drop Judal off at the shop.

"You can just go home," Judal tells him sleepily. "I'm going to pass the fuck out again. Night!"


	8. Chapter 8

IT'S STILL BEFORE MIDNIGHT IN MY TIME ZONE I'm sorry for the late update! I had some final edits for this chapter and then a hectic night at work, so I couldn't get to my computer ;w; sorry! D:

* * *

They manage to settle back into a rhythm now that there's no cursed item to focus on. It's similar to before, with Judal quizzing him on magical items, but now he's helping customers more than he's organizing paperwork. He's even occasionally taking them further into the back rooms and then leading them out on his own. It gets easier every time, just like recognizing magical items, until one evening he realizes he barely has to think about it to avoid getting lost.

"See, I told you it would work out," Judal says. He's sitting on the counter unprofessionally, watching Hakuryuu clean as they chat. It's part of their usual routine, though Hakuryuu wishes he wouldn't choose to sit on the counter right after it was wiped down.

"I just didn't think it would become so easy," he says. "It's such a labyrinth."

Judal shrugs. "I like it that way."

"Of course you do." Hakuryuu wipes down a particularly dusty bench and frowns. "Is this new?"

"Nah, I just had it in storage. But I got the feeling it would finally sell, so I brought it out."

"Well, it's not going to sell looking like this. Why didn't you clean it first?"

"I think you've known me for long enough to know that answer to that."

"You're giving me a headache," Hakuryuu tells him, which isn't entirely a lie. His head has been bothering him for days now, mostly in the slow lull of the evenings.

"Am not!"

He frowns, but crouches to scrub some dirt from the bench's legs. "I've had one for at least a week, but only at work."

"You'll never convict me," Judal declares, sticking his tongue out.

"Somehow that makes you sound more guilty," Hakuryuu points out, and Judal shrugs.

"Maybe I am, then."

"Don't joke," Hakuryuu tells him, his frown deepening. "Why would you give me a headache?"

Judal shrugs. "It could just be a side effect of something else."

"If this is about me being stressed out all the time, you're wrong. I don't usually get stress headaches."

He jumps down from the counter and makes his way over to Hakuryuu. "Nah, not this time."

"What-"

Judal has his wand out very suddenly, a focused look on his face, and he taps it firmly on Hakuryuu's chest. There's a jolt, like a shock of cold lightning through his whole body, he sees stars, his breath catches, and-

"Got it!" Judal says triumphantly.

Hakuryuu clutches his chest, still reeling. He blinks, trying to clear his vision, and does his best to look at Judal angrily. "What did you do?"

"Don't sound so upset. I was helping you. _Someone_ had a tricky little spell on you, hidden so deep that I didn't notice it at first. But now you're free!"

He can't imagine why he'd have any sort of spell on him; before Judal, he'd never experienced magic. Now that the pain has faded and his breathing has returned to normal, Hakuryuu tries to see if he feels different. Nothing, so far. "I feel the same," he says.

Judal waves a hand dismissively. "It's not going to change your life immediately."

"Then what was it doing to me?"

"It was keeping you from being magical," Judal explains. "Guess someone wanted to make sure you were boring forever. Who knows why."

Hakuryuu eyes him dubiously. "Judal-"

"No, I'm serious!" He looks put out. "Is this really what you're gonna refuse to believe me about?"

"I- I don't know. I just don't see why someone would do that to me. Or even when it would have happened."

"It was some sort of customized spell, but I don't recognize who did it," Judal says. "They were pretty powerful, but still no match for my abilities!"

Hakuryuu touches his chest where Judal's wand was, still not feeling anything different. "Should I be thanking you?"

"Of _course_!" he exclaims.

x･x･x

The next day, Judal bursts into the office and sets a stack of books on the desk in front of Hakuryuu. Hakuryuu cringes as a cloud of dust shifts around them, but Judal still looks proud.

"What have I told you about making a mess on the desk?"

He whines. "This is _important_. I spent forever digging these out of storage for you!"

Hakuryuu glances at them. They certainly look old enough to have been tucked away for awhile. "Maybe if you weren't so disorganized, it would be easier to get things out of storage."

"Whatever," Judal says, poking the top of the stack. "I haven't needed these for a long time, cause they're all beginners stuff. But since _you're_ a beginner, I figured they'd work for you."

Hakuryuu takes the first one from the stack and looks at it more closely. "Are these spellbooks?"

He grins. "Sure are!"

They're all thick tomes, and on closer inspection they do look the part of mystical spellbooks. If he really can do magic, like Judal seems to think, these would be incredibly valuable. "I didn't bring a notebook with me," Hakuryuu says, frowning.

Judal looks at him oddly, before bursting into laughter. "I guess you'd want to take notes! Well, that's fine. If you wanna go home and get one or something, I think I can manage without you for a bit."

"Oh, you can?"

"I _can_. It's my store after all!" Judal manages to look fondly annoyed, and Hakuryuu smiles at him. What a strange man.

When Hakuryuu returns from the store - with some candy to placate Judal - there's a very simple looking wand sitting with the books on the desk.

"Oooooh, gummy worms," Judal says, taking the package appreciatively.

"You're welcome," Hakuryuu says, picking up the wand cautiously. It's warm to the touch, just like Judal's was, and he can feel it pulsing in his hands. "Is this for me?"

Judal smiles, soft and honest, before shoving a gummy worm in his mouth. "I don't keep many on hand, but I was pretty sure I had a wand somewhere," he explains, chewing loudly. "You'll need one eventually if you're gonna learn anything."

"Thank you," he says, deeply grateful. "I'll see if I can."

"You can," Judal says simply, and leaves him to read in peace.

x･x･x

Every time Hakuryuu thinks they've got a routine going, Judal changes it. Now he's reading spellbooks on top of paperwork, with Judal trying to test him during lulls in business. It's similar to when he was learning to recognize magic, but more intense and harder to quantify.

"How did you figure out I had any magic potential?" Hakuryuu asks him one evening. He's finally managed to grasp most of the basic concepts, but he's still struggling to cast spells.

Judal doesn't answer at first, and Hakuryuu is starting to think he's just being ignored, when he finally says something. "Something seemed weird when you got my wand," he says in carefully measured words, and Hakuryuu realizes that Judal probably doesn't have to explain his reasoning often. "It still felt like _you_ , like something had happened, but I had Dunya to deal with."

"I felt something odd when I picked it up," Hakuryuu admits, and Judal grins at him.

"Probably happened 'cause I'm just that powerful."

"You are so full of yourself," Hakuryuu tells him, shaking his head, and Judal just shrugs.

"I know I'm good, and I don't see the point in hiding it. I worked hard to get this far!"

He nods. "That still sounds like a nice way of saying that you don't care to be humble," he says, picking up his wand and notes. "I'm going to try to get some more work done, since it looks slow enough that you can watch the store alone."

Judal looks suitably put out. "You know, I used to run this place all alone before you showed up," he gripes.

"Oh, I know," Hakuryuu says, heading to the office, and he can just barely hear Judal whining after him.

It's just as frustrating as it was the day before, and he's finding it hard to believe that he actually has the ability to do anything more than memorize theories. He's trying to trust Judal, but….he's been at it for hours now, and he's got nothing to show for it.

"Still working?" Judal asks, leaning against the doorway.

"Yes," he says shortly.

Judal laughs a little. "You sound annoyed."

"I'm just having some trouble moving past the basics, I guess. I'm sure I'll get it eventually," Hakuryuu explains, hoping that Judal will leave him alone.

Instead, Judal comes over and leans in to look at his work, far too close for comfort. Hakuryuu is just trying to focus; magic makes sense on paper, but he can't make anything of it. It's discouraging, and Judal watching so closely certainly isn't helping.

"Would you stop that?"

"Hm?" Judal is close enough that the question reverberates against his ear, and his soft warm breath is distracting Hakuryuu even more.

"When you're watching me, it's harder for me to focus," Hakuryuu explains.

Judal chuckles against his neck, and Hakuryuu nearly gasps from it. "You're too tense. It's like anything magical; you have to relax."

"I can't relax when you're like this."

Judal takes his hand, curling their fingers around the wand together, and Hakuryuu can feel the magic in his touch. It travels through the wand as Judal murmurs the words of an incantation in his ear, and then out into the world, shaping and rewriting the energies that already surround everything, exploding into a joyous riot of color and delicate snow that dissipates before it even hits the ground. It finally makes sense in a way, how words and thoughts can come together to create something, and his fingers tingle even after Judal lets go.

"Did that help?" he asks Hakuryuu.

"I...think so, actually," he says hesitantly. "I'll need to think it over some and try it on my own, and that-"

"Then do it," Judal interrupts. "Try it out!"

Hakuryuu glares at him but tries anyway, thinking back to the feeling of Judal's hand on his, of the way the spell felt, and tries to recapture that feeling of clarity and understanding. The magic inside him twists and bubbles, and then the power courses suddenly down his arm and through the wand, crashing into the table and encasing it in a thick layer of ice. Hakuryuu staggers back a bit- it's hardly elegant, but he revels in the success of _finally_ casting something.

"There you go!" Judal exclaims happily, slinging an arm around Hakuryuu's shoulders and half pulling him into a hug. "Knew it!"

Hakuryuu doesn't push him off, instead staring at the ice feathered across the table. It wasn't easy, but he made it happen. "You always manage to make any praise for me sound like you're congratulating yourself."

"That's part of my charm," Judal says. "But I _am_ proud of you."

"Funny way of showing it."

He sticks his tongue out. "I do what I want!"

Hakuryuu laughs, and he almost hopes that Judal has gotten comfortable sidled up against him. But before the thought can worry Hakuryuu, Judal pulls away, flitting back to work, and Hakuryuu isn't sure what to make of any of this.

x･x･x

"Now that you can do the absolute basics, I wanna figure out what you'd actually be good at," Judal declares the next day. Hakuryuu sets aside his paperwork and glances to the front, wondering if he should flip the sign to closed. He really does wonder how the store stays open with how much free time Judal seems to have, but there must be enough private buyers that it works out.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" he asks, and Judal grins at him.

"Somewhere in here, I have this crystal ball thing that'll show us," he explains, looking proud of himself.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I just gotta find it. So can you watch the front while I go looking?" he asks, wandering off without waiting for Hakuryuu's answer.

He returns surprisingly quickly and plunks a cloudy glass ball on the front counter. Hakuryuu recognizes it as a piece of decoration that he dusts semi-regularly, but he hasn't seen it since he started practicing magic. "Ta-da!"

"Here I thought this was just for aesthetic reasons."

Judal laughs. "I got it from an estate sale and didn't realize what it was for a long time," he answers. "Guess I'm an idiot sometimes."

Hakuryuu eyes it up. "What does it do?"

"Just touch it and put a little magic in it," he says, placing his hands around it. The smoke inside changes to a bright blue until Judal lets go. "See? I'm best with water, so blue. You read about all the boring organization systems, right?"

"Of course. It was quite useful, and-"

"Boring!" he interrupts. "Come on, feel up my balls."

"Judal!"

He laughs and moves aside, giving Hakuryuu room to touch the crystal ball. It feels mundane at first, but once he applies a small amount of magical pressure, that changes. The cool glass glows and the smoke shifts, darkening until it's nearly pitch black, before it settles on a rich purple.

Judal leans over it. "Oooh, life magic! Not exciting, but useful," he exclaims, sounding pleased. "I'm shit at almost everything life related, so I guess you can learn to cover my ass."

Hakuryuu watches the purple smoke in the ball, swirling and twisting, and thinks about the possibilities. He hasn't done anything with life magic before - probably because Judal is bad at it - so he's excited to try it out. Maybe this magic will feel as effortless as Judal makes it look. The smoke turns back to a neutral gray when he lets go, and Judal still looks pleased.

"We should celebrate," Judal begins, and Hakuryuu already knows where this is going.

"What sweets do you want this time?" he asks, and Judal looks momentarily shocked. It's kind of cute.

He composes himself and grins at Hakuryuu. "You've figured me out, huh? I was going to say ice cream, but I guess we could do something else…"

"I do like ice cream," he agrees, and Judal's gleeful smile makes it worth it. "Should I go get my car?"

"Nah, I actually have some upstairs. I'm gonna put this away and get it," Judal says, picking up the crystal ball. Hakuryuu lays out some paper towels whiles he's gone, in the vain hope that maybe Judal will make less of a mess of the counter this way.

He returns with bowls, spoons, and a carton of ice cream, all balanced precariously with magic. "I hope you like fruit!"

"I wouldn't expect anything else from you."

"Fair," Judal agrees, setting everything out on the counter. Hakuryuu takes the carton to mini fridge once they've served themselves, and when he returns he doesn't see Judal or either bowl of ice cream.

"Judal?" he calls out, confused.

The front door opens and Judal sticks his head in. "I'm sitting out front! Join me!"

It's a nice evening, and sitting on the front steps with Judal is more pleasant than he could have guessed. They watch the sky fade from blue to rich reds and oranges and then into the deep purple of early night, with Judal leaned slightly against his shoulder. Hakuryuu's bowl is sitting almost forgotten at his feet, and he keeps putting off cleaning up and going back inside.

"You're more fun than I expected," Judal says, surprisingly quiet.

"People don't usually call me fun," he admits, and Judal shifts against him.

"Mmm, maybe that's the wrong word," he agrees. "You're good company, though."

"Thank you," Hakuryuu says, resisting the strange urge to pull Judal closer. "Where's this coming from?"

Judal shrugs and rests his head on Hakuryuu's shoulder. "Just thinking."

He reaches to take Judal's empty bowl from him and their hands brush. It's different somehow, like a spark between them, and he doesn't think this has anything to do with magic. Judal doesn't move away though, instead twining their fingers together, and Hakuryuu's doesn't want to take his hand back.


	9. Chapter 9

full disclosure I'm running out of pre-written chapters...I gotta get back to writing soon or I am not gonna be able to keep up with this weekly update thing XD anyway, I hope you enjoy this one! there's more cute and the beginnings of another magical problem~

also, thank you to everyone who reads and comments! it really brightens my day ;w;

* * *

"You're _late_ ," Judal says, sounding more surprised than annoyed, and maybe a little gleeful. "I didn't know that was possible."

Hakuryuu sets a box in front of him. "I was making something for you."

"...what?" Judal pokes the box, obviously confused. This wasn't the answer he expected, but Hakuryuu doesn't blame him for it; he's not one for surprises.

"It's just something little," he amends, now a little worried. What if this was a stupid idea? Judal can be so difficult to predict, but he expected him to like gifts at the very least. "I didn't mean to be late."

Judal pulls the lid off and smiles widely. "Did you make me sweets?"

"They're peach hand pies," he explains. "Since you like peaches so much, I-",

"I love them," Judal interrupts before shoving one in his mouth. It's not a very attractive look, but Judal's excitement somehow makes it cute anyway. "Holy shitballs, this is delicious. What the fuck."

Judal gives the most interesting compliments, that's for sure. "Thank you," Hakuryuu says. "I'm glad you like them.

"How do you bring a boring ass salad every day when you can make this?" Judal sounds incredulous.

"I don't bring salad every day."

"You know what I mean," he says, grabbing another pastry. "But seriously, these are amazing. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he says. "I thought they'd be the sort of thing you'd like."

"I _do_." Judal's practically glowing, he looks so happy. "You spoil me."

"Maybe I shouldn't," Hakuryuu tells him, trying to joke. There's something here, something different than usual, or maybe it's becoming the usual between them, but he can't quite put his finger on it.

Judal laughs, getting crumbs everywhere. "Don't stop now. I want more fruity things!"

"Aren't you fruity enough already?" he asks, and Judal pauses to stare at him. Did he push it too far? There's a second where Hakuryuu begins to feel sick with worry, and then Judal laughs even louder. He has to put his last bite of pie down from how much he's laughing, and Hakuryuu realizes he worried for nothing.

"You are- oh god, I can't stop laughing," Judal tries to say, but has to take a moment to compose himself. "You're right, I _am_ fruity, but I need you to feed me sweets anyway."

Hakuryuu settles on smiling at him. "I'll consider it. But I have some work to do."

"I dunno, maybe I need to reevaluate your position here. I might need a personal dessert chef instead of someone who does all my paperwork." Judal pauses, looking thoughtful. "No, wait. I hate doing paperwork. I guess you can keep your job."

"Then let me go do it," he says, and Judal gestures towards the office door.

"I'm keeping all these, though," Judal declares, clutching his box of peach pastries.

Hakuryuu leaves him to his sweets and gets to work. There's still some backlog that needs to be put into the digital archive, but it's not a pressing issue. He's mostly worried about the day to day paperwork for now, since Judal is insistent that he can and should study magic at work.

Judal leaves him be for a good while, probably because he's busy with customers, but eventually he comes in to interrupt Hakuryuu's magic practice.

"Something's wrong," he says vaguely.

Hakuryuu frowns. "I'm sure I've got this spell right," he disagrees.

"What? No, you're fine. I just can't get a hold of one of my private buyers," Judal clarifies. "They were supposed to come by a few days ago to see some stuff I got in, but they didn't. And now they're unreachable."

"Maybe they're just busy."

"Maybe." Judal sounds unconvinced. "I'm also missing a small order of magical items."

Hakuryuu turns, now somewhat concerned. "Shipments can be delayed, but I have us signed up for notifications from most shipping companies. I take it you've looked into it already?"

Judal nods. "So I'm worried."

"Any ideas?"

"Not yet! But we kicked serious booty with Dunya, so we can figure it out together." Judal shoots him an overly confident grin. "Especially since you've been picking up magic so quickly!"

"I- I mean, I guess I have been? I feel like I've been taking too long," Hakuryuu admits. "But you really don't have any leads?"

"Nope! But I'll see what I can dig up," Judal says, and flits off to do just that.

x･x･x

"This is _hard_ ," Judal declares, sighing dramatically. "Why do so many people have complaints about shipments getting lost?"

Hakuryuu raises an eyebrow. "Either the postal service is very inefficient, or people like to be angry about the most minor delays."

"I guess," he says. "I could call up who I ordered from, but it's not like I can get a replacement."

"You could see if anyone else had items go missing," Hakuryuu suggests, and Judal grins at him.

"You're so helpful," he says happily.

"I just take the time to think."

"I think," Judal argues, but he's still smiling. "But whatever, I'll take your advice."

Hakuryuu hands him a stack of papers. "These are for you. I looked up the local missing persons reports for the past few weeks. Maybe you'll recognize someone."

"You really do think of everything," he says, pleased, and takes them from Hakuryuu. Judal sets the stack on the desk and leans over, poring through the sheets. He smells like incense and fruit, and it's become so familiar that Hakuryuu's surprised it still seems...exciting, in its own way. He's almost too close, but that's just how Judal is around him now: touchy and rude and a surprisingly good friend.

Judal stops, pondering a page and tapping the picture. "I think I know this guy. He used to come in looking for magical trinkets, but I haven't seen him recently." He frowns, going through more pages. "This girl, I ran into her once. She was covering up some spell."

As Judal looks through them, Hakuryuu tries to find any sort of similarity between them. Other than recognizing a few of them, there doesn't seem to be a pattern. He makes sure to put the ones Judal recognized aside, and Judal looks more and more upset as the pile grows.

"I don't like people, but I also don't want them all to go missing," he says tightly, and then pauses to catch himself. "I'm losing business here, you know," he amends, forcing everything but annoyance from his voice.

"Everyone you recognized was magical in some way, right?"

He nods. "I don't remember mundane people as well." There's a lull, where they're both thinking this over, and it while it could be coincidence, it also could be the one thing tying them together.

"Fuck," Judal says eloquently.

"Do you think anyone else on the list is magical?" Hakuryuu asks, going back to the rejected pages.

"Well it's not like there's a fuckin' registry somewhere. But yeah. Probs." Judal then eyes Hakuryuu up. "Shit, you're a weenie! If something's going after magical people, you won't stand a chance."

"Thanks for your confidence."

"I'm being _realistic_ ," he says, frowning. "Bluh."

"We don't know if that's the issue," Hakuryuu reminds him. "It could just be a coincidence."

"But it also _could_ be the problem," Judal argues. "I'm gonna go look up some shit. Watch the store." And he's gone, flitting off into the depths of the store.

He'd be more upset if this wasn't usual Judal behavior. Hakuryuu takes the papers to the office, making sure to keep them separated, and then heads back out front. It ends up being busy, and he loses track of how long Judal's been gone until he needs his help. He's still not allowed to price magical items on his own, and of course he has a customer trying to buy something.

"Judal," he calls into the back, hoping he's listening.

"Coming, coming," Judal's voice sounds distant, but he pushes through the curtain and emerges from the back almost instantly. He's got an ancient looking tome with him, and he shoves it in Hakuryuu's hands. He's all composed shopkeeper again, pleasant and just a little strange looking, and Hakuryuu is reminded of how different he really is when they're alone.

When it becomes obvious that this customer is going to take awhile, Hakuryuu takes the book into the back office. It's similar to his spellbooks, but it's labeled differently. He sits down to flip through it until Judal is done. It's older Chinese, and he frowns at some of the confusingly archaic language. However, it's full of illustrations to go with the rich descriptions of magical creatures, and Hakuryuu slowly works his way through it.

"Find something interesting?" Judal asks softly, right in his ear, and Hakuryuu still can't figure out how he moves so silently with all the jewelry on.

"The book itself is," Hakuryuu says, and Judal leans in closer to inspect it.

"If you want to read it later, you can. But I need it for now," he says, tapping it.

"Doing some research?" Hakuryuu asks, moving to let Judal sit down.

"Trying to see if anything around here eats magic," he says, turning the chair around to sit in what looks like the most uncomfortable way possible. "Lemme know if you need help out front."

Judal's still in the back office when Hakuryuu closes up for the night, hunched over his book, and barely waves when he says goodbye.

x･x･x

The next morning, Judal greets him with a sleepy looking smile. "You brought me coffee?"

"I had a feeling you wouldn't sleep last night," he explains, pressing a cup into Judal's waiting hands.

"You know me so well," he says, sounding very touched, if a bit tired. "My hero."

There are a few peaches in the office, strewn across the desk with some messy papers. Judal's handwriting is nearly impossible to decipher, so he hopes there's been some progress.

Judal takes a long sip of coffee and sighs. "Oh, it's so perfect, I could kiss you," he says happily, and Hakuryuu feels a fluttering in his stomach. He's not sure if he wants Judal to be kidding or not, and that's the confusing part.

"Anyway, I did find some shit," he says. "Did you bring breakfast?"

Hakuryuu snaps to attention. "Um, wh- yeah, just one donut though. Sorry, I wasn't sure how awake you'd be."

Judal sighs dramatically. "You're forgiven, but only because you're so cute. Gimme gimme!"

He hands it over. "Did you sleep at all?"

"I considered sleeping," he says, dodging the question. "I found a few things that eat magic, but nothing native. So we're gonna have to go investigating!"

"Not today," Hakuryuu says, and Judal deflates. "There's a shipment coming in today, remember?"

"I sure fuckin' didn't," he admits, laughing. "Thanks. You're really looking out for me."

"I _am_ trying."

"I know, I said thank you!" Judal stretches. "I'm gonna take this coffee and go...get dressed...since you're here and all."

"Don't take too long," Hakuryuu requests, and Judal makes a vague noise of agreement as he leaves.

It's a slow morning again leaving Hakuryuu free to do yesterday's paperwork and sign for the order with minimal interruptions. Just as he's worrying that Judal fell asleep, he saunters in, dressed and made up perfectly again. He does look a bit washed out, though.

"Still tired?" Hakuryuu asks.

Judal shakes his head but fails to hide a yawn. "I guess a little."

"Your order is here," he tells Judal, gesturing towards the office door.

"Yaaaaay," he says. "I don't even know what it is."

Hakuryuu somehow avoids sighing. "Some small stuff from an estate sale that you found online. Nothing feels too magical."

"Boo. Well, whatever, I guess it'll work. People buy dumb crap all the time." Judal joins him behind the counter to glance at the packing list, leaning slightly on Hakuryuu as he does. "Fuck, I'm tired."

"You do look pretty rundown."

"Wow, thanks," he says sarcastically. "Why didn't the coffee save me?"

Hakuryuu looks over at him. "When did you last sleep?"

Judal shrugs. "Who knows!"

"There's your answer."

"Sounds fake. Sleep is for other people," he says, yawning again.

"Judal…"

He whines and rests his head on Hakuryuu's shoulder. "I guess I'll try to get some sleep tonight. It's not like I can go to bed _now_."

"Well, if you'd teach me how to price magical items, I could cover for you," he says, but it feels nice to have Judal resting on him. He's not sure he wants to move.

"You already do all my important business paperwork and shit, if I teach you anything else you'll really be able to run off with my store."

"How would I run away with a physical store?"

"Dunno. But you _could_. I gotta keep some secrets!"

Hakuryuu reaches over and ruffles his hair, and Judal practically purrs. "You just make it up every time."

"Shh, that's the secret," Judal says, bumping his head into Hakuryuu's hand again.

"Spoiled brat," he says, but he pets Judal's head anyway. It's nice, having a quiet afternoon with Judal by his side, and he doesn't want to shove him away. But Judal eventually yawns and stands up.

"Where's the order?"

"I put it in the office," Hakuryuu says patiently, and Judal shuffles off to go inspect.

He leaves Judal to work and gets back to his own responsibilities. He's done with all the most pressing paperwork, so it's time to move onto magic again. He almost wishes he'd gotten the tome of magical monsters from Judal, but it's probably not the most efficient thing to focus on. For now, Hakuryuu wants to get better at casting stronger spells, though focusing on just life magic has helped him.

After awhile, he realizes that he hasn't heard any sound from the office recently, and he's a little concerned. It isn't like Judal to be so quiet.

"Judal?" he asks, knocking on the office door. When he doesn't answer, Hakuryuu opens the door, only to find Judal asleep at the desk and the order barely touched. He shakes his head, unsurprised.

"Hey," he says, slightly shaking his shoulder. Judal jerks and stares at him, trying to blink sleep out of his eyes. "Do you want to be sleeping?"

"I wasn't sleeping," he argues, voice still scratchy from just waking up.

"Yes, you were."

"Noooo," Judal whines. "Get me more coffee, I'm fine."

"Are you going to watch the store, or am I going to come back to find you sleeping on the register?" Hakuryuu asks.

"You're a bully," Judal tells him, stretching. "I'm not closing early so I can _nap_ ," he says, and the last word sounds like poison.

"I'm not going to disagree, but-"

"Besides, you have to sleep here too," Judal interrupts.

Hakuryuu stares at him. Did he hear him wrong? "What?"

"I was thinking. Something's out there eating magical people or something, and _you're_ a magical person with no experience defending yourself."

"I suppose this is true. So you want to protect me?" he asks, still thinking it over.

"Yep! I guess we can close up and go get stuff from your place," Judal says cheerfully.

Hakuryuu frowns. "But I thought you didn't want to close early."

"This is actually important!"

"I guess…"

"It is. I'm trying to help." Judal smiles up at him before forcing himself to stand up. "And I always like seeing your fancy apartment."

"Speaking of that, where am I going to sleep at your place?" Hakuryuu asks, thinking back to the mess of Judal's home.

Judal glances over his shoulder, already on his way out of the office. "Obviously, we're gonna cuddle."

Hakuryuu freezes, and he can feel his face turning red. What does Judal mean by that? He should have some sort of comeback, since this is probably a joke, but he's stuck on the image of curling up with Judal. The silence stretches, and he's sure it's awkward, until Judal laughs.

"Nah, I'm kidding. I've got that spare room, remember?"

"Oh. Right," he says, composing himself and following Judal out. "I remember how messy it was."

Judal waves a hand. "I can clean it up for you, don't worry so much."

One trip to Hakuryuu's apartment later, he's wondering why they shut down for the evening. Judal is full of energy, practically vibrating on the way up the stairs to his home.

"So, we can watch a movie if you want. I've got Netflix," Judal says, like it's a novel invention. "And I've got popcorn and ice cream for movie snacks, and I think some candy…"

"The spare room?" Hakuryuu asks, trying to keep Judal on task.

He sighs dramatically. "Okay, okay, we can be _boring_ and clean that first. But now we have to watch something as a reward."

Somehow, there's even more stuff in the spare room than before. "Are these the boxes from the last time I was over?"

"Uh, maybe?" Judal says guiltily.

"Why?"

"Because I have problems cleaning, okay? And I sleep through my days off sometimes, so then I just never get around to it."

Hakuryuu shakes his head and puts him to work breaking down boxes while he sorts through the rest of the mess. Thankfully, it's mostly old papers and trash, so it goes faster than he expected, and soon they've unearthed the futon. The room even looks brighter, since they found a lamp under a pile of dirty clothes, and Hakuryuu set it up.

"Wow, I can't believe we made this livable," Judal says, looking pleased.

"And you promised I could sleep here," he reminds Judal, who just grins back at him.

"I had faith in your ability to save my messy ass. Come on, what kind of movie do you wanna watch?"

Hakuryuu follows him out into the living room and frowns at the mess. "You know, we could clean up in here, too. It would be a lot nicer."

Judal's expression drops. "What? No, you can't be that cruel."

"Well, you can put on a movie, but I'm going to at least pick up all the trash," Hakuryuu says, and Judal grumpily goes off to the kitchen to get more trash bags.

He plops down on the floor and starts dejectedly putting old take out containers in a bag. "I guess I'll help, then."

"Thank you," Hakuryuu tells him, and between the two of them they get all the trash bagged up. Judal draws the line on taking it all out to the dumpster, though, so Hakuryuu drags a promise out of him that they'll do it in the morning.

Movie decision time is hard with Judal, since their tastes don't match up that much, but they eventually settle on last summer's superhero blockbuster.

"You can't hate fun _this_ much," Judal whines, even after they've agreed on a movie.

"I don't hate fun. I just think we might have different tastes."

"Whatever," he says, plopping down on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn. "Sit with me!"

"I'm coming," Hakuryuu says, carefully avoiding the trash bags by the front door. He'd complain more about what a fire hazard they were if Judal's entire shop wasn't a huge one on its own.

Once on the couch, Judal somehow ends up right against him while he's getting the movie started. He stays cuddled against Hakuryuu, hogging the popcorn and running commentary, until he goes quiet. Hakuryuu glances over and realizes he's sleeping, head rested on his shoulder, and he can feel himself smiling fondly at him. Judal needs the sleep, so he leaves him be until the credits.

"W-what?" Judal says sleepily.

"You fell asleep again."

He looks confused. "I did not."

"The movie is over."

"Oh…" Judal trails off, like he's just now noticing the TV. "I guess you're right."

Hakuryuu waits for Judal to get up, slowly stretching and nearly knocking over the popcorn in the process. "I'm taking this to kitchen," he tells Judal, who just watches him go.

"Thanks," he says when Hakuryuu returns. "I'm pretty much a mess, huh?"

Hakuryuu sighs and smiles a little, not wanting to be too mean and agree. Even if it is sort of true. "For today, you can blame it on lack of sleep."

Judal returns Hakuryuu's smile with a crooked smile of his own. "If you say so."

Hakuryuu nods, not sure what else to say. It's late. Hakuryuu heads down the hall, hearing Judal one last time before he shuts the door.

"Goodnight, Hakuryuu."


	10. Chapter 10

sorry for the late posting! D: adult life shit got in the way, you know...all that boring stuff. one of my other favorite characters shows up this chapter though, and that's exciting~

* * *

Breakfast is a challenge, but Hakuryuu manages to make pancakes from an old mix and serves them with sliced peaches. Judal is, as always, far too amazed by this.

"You're so good at food. How did you even make pancakes?" he asks.

"There was a mix in the back of the cupboard," he explains, cutting his pancakes neatly. Somehow, being around Judal makes him want to be even less messy than usual.

Judal looks confused, before nodding. "I'd forgotten I even had that!"

"I'm not surprised. It wasn't even open."

"Yeah, well this is really fucking delicious. Seriously, why weren't you a chef somewhere fancy?"

"It's just a hobby. I'm not that good," Hakuryuu tries to explain.

"Bull fucking shit," he says around a mouthful of pancakes. "This is amazing."

Hakuryuu shrugs. "I'm not passionate enough about it to make it a career."

Judal eyes him up, far more serious than Hakuryuu would expect for breakfast conversation. "So what are you passionate about?"

He's not sure how to answer this, but Judal goes back to his food without pressing the issue. They manage to settle into a comfortable silence for a bit, and Hakuryuu is left to mull over his question.

"I think we should go out investigating today," Judal says as he's finishing his veritable mountain of pancakes. "It's a 'by appointment only' day for the store and I don't have any, so you can't even yell at me for closing."

"It's your business," Hakuryuu says.

"Somehow, I still feel like you're judging me," Judal replies, frowning. "But whatever, I don't have appointments because people have gone missing, so I need to sort that shit out. Let's go!"

"I'm cleaning up the kitchen first, and you promised you'd take out the trash," Hakuryuu reminds him, and Judal groans.

As he finishes wiping down the counters, Judal comes back in to watch. "I did your stupid chores," he says, pouting.

"It's your home."

"I _guess_. Let's get out of here," he says, heading out without waiting for Hakuryuu's answer. He grabs his wallet and keys before following Judal, finally catching up to him in the alleyway.

"I just gotta grab my list from the shop," Judal says, shouldering his messenger bag. He's got his wand tucked into his belt, red gem glinting in the bright summer sun, and Hakuryuu realizes he doesn't have his.

"Should I bring my wand?" Hakuryuu asks, and Judal pauses midway down the alley to consider it.

"You know what? Why the fuck not! Maybe you can learn something," he answers, grinning. "Where'd you leave it?"

"Upstairs, on the dresser in the spare room. I can go up and get it."

"One sec," Judal says, and he pulls out his wand to draw a sigil in the air quickly. He jumps through it and vanishes, before reappearing with Hakuryuu's wand. "Got it!"

"You're such a show off," Hakuryuu tells him, and Judal just grins. "But thank you."

"Thank _you_. I like an excuse to teleport."

"If you can do that, why have I been driving you around?" he asks, carefully slipping his wand in a pocket.

Judal sighs like he's the most long-suffering man around. "It's too obvious. People tend to notice me just appearing out of nowhere."

"That's a surprising amount of foresight from you," Hakuryuu tells him without thinking, but Judal just chuckles in response before heading into the shop.

He comes back out holding a piece of paper. "Here are some missing people I think I recognize, so I wanna go check out where they live."

"Why do you have their addresses?"

"Why not? Come on! We should have gotten your car yesterday, but I suck at planning," Judal says, heading down the street before Hakuryuu can complain.

He sighs and follows Judal. "Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"Cause I fuckin forgot," he answers, shrugging. "I thought you knew me well enough by now to figure that one out!"

At least they're not far from his car. Judal clambers into the passenger seat and holds his hands out for Hakuryuu's phone, typing in the address of their first destination before giving it back.

"Someday I'm gonna find all your dirty secrets," Judal says, and it seems almost ominous until he keeps talking. "You gotta have music on there somewhere."

Hakuryuu glances at the GPS to make sure they're heading in the right direction. "On my phone?"

"Yeah! We never listen to anything," he whines.

"That's because you're always talking, and I wouldn't want to drown out the sound of your beautiful voice," Hakuryuu answers, and he can't help but smile at Judal's groan.

"You're so rude!"

He shrugs. "There's a radio."

"Yeah, but that's not the same. I hate commercials! And they never play the music I wanna hear anyway…" Judal trails off. "Whatever, at least we're close. Next time we're going somewhere far away I'm finding us some better music."

Hakuryuu just nods and turns onto a quiet residential street. Judal turns his attention to the window, looking for their stop. It's not long until he points at a house up the block. Hakuryuu parks out front, and Judal hops out before the car even stops moving.

"There's some sort of residue here," Judal says, squinting at the house in front of them. "But I can't place it. Whatever was here didn't wanna get caught."

Hakuryuu locks the car and follows Judal up to the house. It doesn't look like an abandoned building at least. The front door opens easily, too, and Judal leads them in without fear. It's dim and a bit dusty, but it doesn't look like it's been sitting empty for that long. The oven still displays the correct time, and Judal starts poking around the fridge.

"There's still so much food. Shit, I don't think I have this much in my fridge," he says, opening drawers.

"That's because you eat nothing but takeout and fruit every day," Hakuryuu reminds him.

"True!" Judal agrees, laughing. "Well, this guy wasn't planning on leaving, I guess. But I still can't figure out what kind of magic this is...there just isn't enough of it in the air."

Hakuryuu smacks his hand away from the popsicles in the freezer and Judal whines. "Are you seriously going to steal food from a missing person?"

"It's not like he's using it anymore," he grumbles, reluctantly closing the freezer door. They head upstairs and it's more of the same: everything looks normal and undisturbed, other than some normal looking mess.

Except...something isn't quite right.

"Judal, wasn't this one of your customers?" Hakuryuu asks, trying to make sure he's putting all the right pieces together.

"Uh, duh. That's why we're here," Judal answers.

"Then why isn't there anything magical here?"

Judal pauses, considering this as he snoops around the bedroom some more. "Shit, you're right! That's fuckin weird."

Hakuryuu feels accomplished, though he does wish that Judal could be more observant at times.

"I mean, that doesn't help me figure out what I'm looking for. But that's definitely strange," Judal says. "Let's get out of here before anyone notices us trespassing, I guess."

Hakuryuu rushes them out, shaking his head. "You can be so irresponsible."

Judal shrugs as he gets into the car, unconcerned. "Okay, this next guy lives - or is it lived? - a bit out of town, and he's the kind of guy to booby trap his house," he says, once they're settled.

"So we can get attacked?" Hakuryuu asks.

"No, so if it came for him, it might be trapped there!" Judal explains, and this does sound like a good idea. "Gimme your phone, I wanna set up the maps. And then find some music. Your fancy car TV plays music too, right?"

"It's not a TV," Hakuryuu explains. "It's a touch screen GPS and radio that is built into the car. You've used the radio part before."

Judal shrugs. "I guess I have. But ohhh, you _do_ have music on here! Let's see what Mr. Serious Fancy Pants Rich Boy likes to listen to," he says gleefully, cackling as he scrolls through the music library. Hakuryuu doesn't bother trying to stop him, knowing that Judal loves nothing more than to pry into everyone's personal business.

"I can't believe you have boring classical music on here," Judal finally says. "I wanted to expect better from you than stereotypical bland- oh wait, there's more. I think I got lost in a playlist or something… Oh shit, I love this song!"

Hakuryuu has only a moment to worry about what taste of his Judal shares before the radio barks to life with Mindless Self Indulgence. Then the worry turns to embarrassment. "Well that's been on there for a really long time-"

"Shhh, shhh, it's okay, Hakuryuu. I knew your soul was emo."

"No, you see- Like I was trying to say, my phone has any music I've ever purchased, so-" Hakuryuu tries to explain, hoping that Judal drops the subject before he makes it seem like he cares too much.

Instead, Judal laughs at him. "I'm not judging you! I just said I liked the song too, you know? I can see it, your deeply tortured soul hidden underneath plain button ups and slacks. I could paint your nails black later if you wanna try expressing yourself-"

"I'm going to take you back home," Hakuryuu threatens, trying to hide a smile. Somehow Judal manages to make him feel like part of the joke instead of the fool.

"Nooooooo!" Judal whines. "I'll be good. We're being good! Remember, we're trying to _help_ innocent magical citizens. We're good!"

Hakuryuu can't resist laughing at this. "I know. You're not very good at jokes sometimes."

"Maybe _you're_ just bad at them," he tries to say, but there's still humor in his voice. "I hope you've still got the rest of your emo music, since we're gonna be stuck in the car for awhile."

They eventually reach a house on the outskirts of the city, further away than Hakuryuu expected. This one _does_ look abandoned, covered in creeping vines and colorful flowers, and he glances over at Judal. He seems more concerned with getting out of the car than he does with the state of the house, so Hakuryuu parks in front of it.

Judal scrambles out, stretching and whining. "I didn't realize this was so far away. Jeez!"

"Well, you've never been here before."

"I never said that. I just usually teleport in, since it's so remote," he explains. "Did you know the bus doesn't run out here? It's stupid."

"Then why did we-"

"Just in case!" Judal knocks on the front door, careless as always, and Hakuryuu watches from the sidewalk. He's not quite so fearless, especially since he can feel the magic in the air. This is not the kind of place you just run into.

"Yo, anyone home?" Judal yells, pounding on the door some more. A vine crawls along the porch, and before Hakuryuu can warn him, it grabs Judal by the ankles. It pulls him up and then flips him over while he screeches and screams profanities. "Let go!"

The door opens slowly, revealing a short blond man in cat-eye glasses, and he frowns at Judal. "Oh, it's _you_."

"Hey! Hey, plant freak, call off your stupid vines!" Judal yells, still struggling.

He merely raises an eyebrow. "Why are you here, Judal?"

Judal spits at him. "Lemme down!"

"I see you're still a brat."

"Don't be a dick, Zagan!" Judal whines, and the vines finally release him. He lands on the porch with a thud, groaning on impact.

Zagan glances around Judal and eyes Hakuryuu up. "I see you brought a little...friend."

"Fuck, was that really necessary?" Judal asks petulantly, picking himself up. When Zagan doesn't answer, he sighs. "And yeah, I did. I know you hate people, but I thought you might be dead so like, no big deal."

He looks back at Judal. "Why on earth would you think I was dead?"

"You're not even gonna invite us in?" Judal asks, ignoring the question.

Zagan sighs and opens the door wider. "I suppose you may come in. But not you," he says, gesturing at Hakuryuu.

Judal crosses his arms like an angry child. "You can't keep Hakuryuu out! I'll just go home and let you get eaten by monsters."

He makes a disgusted face. "Fine. But I expect some sort of favor from you later," Zagan demands, and Judal just shakes his head.

"I'm not stupid enough to agree to owing you an unspecified favor. Come on, Hakuryuu," Judal says, leading the way in. The inside is covered in even more plants than the outside, like some sort of tropical greenhouse. Hakuryuu can barely believe it's the same place with the size of it, though he supposes it's not too different than the shop. Judal, unsurprisingly, seems nonplussed. Hakuryuu stays close to Judal as Zagan leads them in. He wants to look around to see more of the strange plants, but something about that seems unwise. Zagan's house pulses with at least as much magic as Judal's shop, and Hakuryuu has a suspicious feeling that he wouldn't be able to find his way back if he gets separated.

Zagan guides them into a small sitting room, and Judal makes himself comfortable right away, sprawling on a plush couch under an overhang of large, flat leaves. Hakuryuu joins him, unsure what else to do.

Zagan sits across from them on a chair that seems to grow from the floorboards, still visibly annoyed. "Are you ready to explain yourself?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm getting there," Judal says. "Anyway, this is Hakuryuu, my new assistant," he proclaims, flinging an arm around Hakuryuu's shoulders.

"I see," Zagan says, sounding very much like he's talking about a piece of dirt.

"Don't mind Zagan, he's just rude," Judal explains.

"You're rude," Hakuryuu tells him, unable to resist calling out Judal, and Zagan almost smiles.

"I see you've finally found someone willing to tell you the truth," Zagan says. "Even if he is another human."

Judal sticks his tongue out. "I'm never worrying about you again."

Zagan sighs and starts to get up, already weary of company. "Yes, I'm sure. If that's all you have to say-"

"Something's eating up other magic users and items," Hakuryuu interrupts, tired of listening to them bickering. "And Judal hadn't heard from you in awhile, so he wanted to check up on you."

Judal whines in his ear and Zagan looks mildly pleased. "You thought some minor creature could take me out?" he asks, and Judal shrugs.

"Or you caught it in some nasty trap of yours, and then the problem would be solved," he says, before Hakuryuu can say anything else.

Zagan taps a finger to his lips, looking thoughtful. "Unfortunately for you, I haven't run across anything like that recently. Do you have any other specifics?"

"No," Judal admits, frowning deeply. "I ruled a few things out because they're not local-"

"But couldn't they be imported?" Zagan interrupts, just as a strange, colorful creature comes in. It's carrying a tray with a teapot and cups precariously balanced on it, and holding a basket laden with fruits and sweets.

"Oh, lovely," Zagan says, pouring himself some tea. "Serve our guests too, please."

It walks over, offering the tray to Judal first. Following their examples, Hakuryuu pours a cup of tea and takes a few sweets.

"I guess," Judal says, once he's snacked some. "But some of them can't survive in the climate here, and it's been nearly impossible to get any sort of read on the magic to narrow it down."

Zagan sips his tea. "It's been magical humans, right?"

"And items."

"I still think I'll be staying out of this. You know my opinion on...you people," Zagan says, pulling a face.

"Whatever, I don't want your help," Judal snaps back, but it still sounds friendly.

Hakuryuu stays out of the conversation for the most part, though he's still paying attention and thinking it over. Zagan speaks of humans with such disdain, but also like he _isn't_ one himself, which is interesting. He supposes he shouldn't be too surprised. He also thinks he has at least part of the answer to what Judal is: human, or at least enough for Zagan to group him in with other humans. That's the more surprising part, somehow.

"If you can't figure out what you're up against, it might just be coincidence."

"It's never just coincidence," Judal argues, and Zagan nods. "We've only been a few places, though."

"I see."

"It's an actual problem!" he says defensively. "Don't look at me like that."

"I never said it wasn't," Zagan says, overly polite.

"Ugh, you just don't care because it's not your problem. Hey, where's your stupid boyfriend or whatever?" Judal asks, glancing around. "Usually he'd try to throw me out by now!"

"Belial? Hmm, I prefer to think of him as eye candy," Zagan answers. "He's not here. He doesn't actually live here, you know. You just have a way of showing up at inconvenient times."

Judal grins broadly. "Aww, I'm glad I can cockblock you so much! Tell him I say hi."

"I will not," Zagan replies, glowering. "You are impossible."

"It's part of my charm!" he declares. "Right, Hakuryuu?"

He glances up from his tea to look at Judal. "Here I thought your charm was disorganized paperwork and a messy house."

"Why do you hate me?" he whines, nearly spilling their tea as he tries to flop in Hakuryuu's lap. "Both of you, abusing me so much!"

"Are you quite done?" Zagan asks eventually, once Judal has whined himself out.

"Bluh, fine. We do have other places to be, and you live too damn far away," Judal grouses, getting out of Hakuryuu's personal space and off the couch.

Zagan leads them out, back through the lush forest of his house, looking entirely different than it did on the way in and yet still similar enough that it's obviously the same sort of space. It reminds him of a more organic version of the back of Judal's shop. "I thought you didn't drive."

"Hakuryuu does!" Judal says cheerfully.

"Ah, he is very unlucky then."

"I'm a _delight_ ," Judal informs him, before heading out the front door.

"Thank you for the tea," Hakuryuu tells Zagan, who he thinks looks slightly less disgusted by his presence, and then follows Judal to the car.


	11. Chapter 11

I am SO EXCITED to share this chapter okay I've been pumped for it since the beginning of the fic basically! some more acquaintances from Judal's past show up, and he actually sits down and shares something personal with Hakuryuu afterwards. it's a good time I promise!

* * *

"Well, that was a waste of time," Judal grumbles once they're back on the road.

"He was rather interesting," Hakuryuu says carefully, and Judal laughs.

"Yeah, he's a piece of work. I'm surprised he actually let you come inside. He hates humans!"

Hakuryuu sees an opportunity and takes it. "But not you?"

"He's learned to tolerate my charming personality," Judal says, and even without looking at him, Hakuryuu can hear him grinning. "Plus, he's known me for awhile now."

"Ah," is all he can think of in response, and Judal starts messing with the radio instead of elaborating. Apparently he's not done looking through all of Hakuryuu's music.

Once they're closer to the city, Judal perks up. "Maybe I should put the shop on hiatus for a bit and take a trip."

"Hmm?"

"You know, road trip around the country, getting new stuff to sell and finding crazy things in the most unexpected places…"

"How are you going to get all that on a bus?"

Judal stares at him, dumbfounded. There's a beat of silence while he tries to come up with an answer, and Hakuryuu has to bite his lip to keep from laughing. "I- I mean- _You're_ gonna be driving! Jeez!"

Hakuryuu can't help but laugh a little now, and Judal pouts at him.

"Gonna leave me to the mercy of a shady bus stop...really! You're such an asshole."

"You're the one making all these assumptions…" Hakuryuu teases, trying to rile him up more.

"Maybe it's for my _business_ that _you work at_ ," Judal points out. "I can't believe you'd- oh, hey. We're here!"

Once again, Judal crawls out of the car as soon as it stops moving. If this is how he feels about driving, why would he want to take a cross country road trip? Judal would be miserable, and he'd drive Hakuryuu crazy the whole time.

"It feels the same," Judal tells him once Hakuryuu is out of the car. "The magic in the air. Can you tell? It's pretty subtle, but it's kind of like a residue of something that's _wrong_."

Hakuryuu tries, and at first he can't feel a thing, but with enough concentration the air around him feels...off, in a way that he can't place. "I see what you mean."

"And I still don't know what it is! I'm so frustrated." Judal pushes the front door open and walks in like he owns the place. Hakuryuu reluctantly follows along, since apparently breaking and entering is just a part of his life now.

The house looks undisturbed, like the first one they went to, and he's unsurprised to find Judal in the kitchen again. "Why do you want to steal food from the dead so badly?"

"It's for a good cause," Judal says, head in the fridge. "Gives me an idea of how long they've been gone."

"I suppose."

"Also, Zagan totally didn't feed us enough. I'm hungry."

Hakuryuu pulls him out of the fridge to chastise him. "You cannot be serious."

"Fine," he whines. "But only if we can get snacks after this.

"Why are you like a 5-year-old sometimes?" Hakuryuu asks, shaking his head.

Judal winks. "Part of my charm!"

Hakuryuu opens his mouth to argue, but pauses. He could have sworn he just heard the front door open again. "Did you hear that?"

"I heard you ignoring my plight," he answers, pouting again.

"No, I-" he stops himself, listening. He can definitely hear muffled voices now, and from Judal's expression it looks like he can too.

Judal draws his wand and takes his hand, and Hakuryuu wonders if he's going to teleport them to safety elsewhere. But it seems they didn't catch onto the intruders fast enough, because they wander into the kitchen before Judal can do anything.

Hakuryuu just hopes they're not police. That's as optimistic as he can be, when-

"You!" Judal yells, pointing at the two men in front of them, who seem equally surprised to not be alone. There's an awkward silence between them, with everyone observing each other, and Hakuryuu tries to get a good look at the strangers. They look very proper, dressed in nice suits, and if Judal hadn't recognized them, Hakuryuu would be worried that they were some kind of authority.

"Judal?!" the taller of the two men finally says incredulously.

"Why are _you_ here?" Judal snaps. He's still got his wand out, and he brandishes it menacingly.

"I should be asking you the same thing," he responds. The more Hakuryuu studies the pair, the more the illusion of authority wears down. The taller of the two wears big gold hoops and his hair is long - not very cop or detective-like in Hakuryuu's mind - and the shorter man looks professional to the point of near parody.

"I'm being _helpful_ ," Judal stresses, and Hakuryuu is so glad he made sure Judal didn't steal any food. "Unlike you, I'm sure."

"You? Being helpful?" the silver haired man asks skeptically. Even though he's the slighter of the two, something about him seems even more sharp and dangerous than the man who spoke first. "Somehow, I doubt that."

"Look, Freckles, I can be helpful when I want to be!"

He steps towards Judal aggressively, and his friend has to hold him back. "Come now, Jafar, Judal, let's not turn this into a fight."

"Sin-"

"Let's try to start over," the taller man says warmly.

Judal is still pouting angrily, put out that he doesn't get to start a fight, so Hakuryuu tries to be the diplomatic one. "I take it you're acquaintances of Judal's?

"Something like that, yes. But I see we haven't properly introduced ourselves, and for that I'm sorry. Somehow, Judal brings out my worst manners. I'm Sinbad, and this is my partner, Jafar." He offers his hand and Hakuryuu shakes it. Judal pretends to ignore the whole exchange, but Hakuryuu can see him frowning deeply.

"I'm Hakuryuu. I've been working with Judal as his assistant," he explains.

Sinbad almost looks concerned, but the look vanishes quickly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hakuryuu," he says, smiling like he truly means it.

"Stop trying to charm him to your side," Judal says, sidling up against Hakuryuu possessively.

Sinbad holds up his hands and chuckles. "I'm just being friendly, Judal, don't get so defensive." Hakuryuu realizes, perhaps a little belatedly, the last thing that had seemed off about Sinbad. He's stupidly magical, his magic strong enough to be easily felt next to Judal's massive well of power. Hakuryuu keeps that realization to himself for now, instead reassuringly patting Judal on the arm.

"What are you doing here?" Jafar asks, scowling. "Have you sunk to theft now?"

Judal tenses beside him and Hakuryuu grabs his hand without thinking. Surprisingly, it works to calm him down, and Judal just turns his attention back to Sinbad instead. "I've been checking up on some customers of mine," he explains.

"Oh?" Sinbad looks around. "Do you know where he is?"

"Nope," Judal says simply. "They've been vanishing suddenly, and I wanna know why."

"Maybe it's because you sell cursed items to unsuspecting people," Jafar says under his breath, but Hakuryuu and Judal can still hear him.

"I'll have you know, I sold Hakuryuu a cursed item and he's still fine," Judal snaps back, and Hakuryuu cringes. Why would he try to use that as an example?

Jafar raises an eyebrow. "If he's stuck with you, I'd say he's still cursed," he says, and Sinbad laughs nervously.

"Alright Jafar, let's all try to get along for now," Sinbad says. "I'll assume you don't know anything about this, then."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," Judal says cagily. "What about _you_?"

"We were in the area, and heard there have been some magical items going missing lately," Sinbad answers simply. "I'd planned on stopping by to see you too, you know."

"Unfortunately," Jafar mutters darkly.

"Obviously, I'm fine," Judal tells him. "Now go...save someone else, I've already got this under control."

Sinbad looks at him questioningly. "So you've figured out what's causing these disappearances?"

Judal crosses his arms and doesn't quite meet anyone's eyes. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"Well, yes, I would, but since you're going to be this difficult when I'm just trying to be polite, I guess I won't know your side. But I don't need the information, so don't worry about it," Sinbad says, looking very much like an accomplished hero already.

"You don't need it? Why?" Judal asks, frowning.

"We already know what we're looking for, so we're just tracking it down now," Sinbad explains. "Isn't that what you're doing?"

Judal freezes, and Hakuryuu can feel his nervousness in the air around him. "Of course. Right, Hakuryuu?"

"Just working out the last of the details-" he starts, trying to back up Judal without knowing the right answers.

"But we're on the right track, so you know. We're better than you!" Judal finishes quickly, grinning. There's still tension in the air, thick and awkward, like there's more to all of this than Hakuryuu can quite get a grasp on.

"If you're done wasting our time, Sin, we should get moving," Jafar says, interrupting Hakuryuu's thoughts.

Sinbad shrugs. "I guess we're heading out. It was good seeing you again, Judal, and a pleasure to meet you, Hakuryuu. I'm sure we'll see each other again." He waves and follows Jafar back into the hallway.

Judal deflates when they're gone, sighing heavily. "Ugh," he says, sinking into a chair.

"You're not actually good friends, are you?" Hakuryuu asks, and Judal shakes his head.

"It's complicated," he begins. "We've been enemies more often than friends, I think, but we've also known each other for a long fucking time, so there's this stupid familiarity, I guess."

Hakuryuu isn't sure what to say to this, so he waits for Judal to finish. He usually has a lot to say about people, even strangers, and Sinbad and Jafar can't be the exceptions. Especially with whatever past they have together.

"I wanna go home," Judal says instead.

"Oh. Um, sure. Let's go, then."

Their drive home is oddly quiet, and he's beginning to worry about Judal. It's not like him to shut down like this, but he doesn't know how to get him to talk about it either. Should he try? He's not sure.

"Park around back," Judal says when they're close, finally breaking the silence. "There's a spot."

True to his word, Hakuryuu finds a parking spot in the alley. He's pretty sure this is an invitation to come upstairs with Judal, but he wants to check.

"Want me to come up?"

Judal nods. "Your stuff is up there anyway," he says, grabbing his bag and making a beeline for the door. Hakuryuu follows him and has to sprint up the steps to keep up. He half expects the door to be locked with Judal's current attitude, but it opens effortlessly. Judal, however, is nowhere to be found.

"Judal?"

"I just want a snack," he calls from the kitchen, but he somehow sounds even more distant.

Hakuryuu waits in the living room awkwardly, not sure what Judal wants him to do. He wants to know what's wrong because he's genuinely worried, but for how loud Judal is, he's oddly cagey about his feelings. He'll probably have to wait for Judal to bring it up.

Judal breezes past him silently, down the hall to his bedroom, and Hakuryuu gives up on waiting for instructions. He sits on the couch and tries to relax for now. Judal eventually returns in much more comfortable clothes with a smile plastered on his face, and if Hakuryuu didn't know him better, he'd think it was real. He's not carrying any sort of snack, so he either ate it already or was hiding in the kitchen to compose himself. Hakuryuu's not sure which it is, but he has a pretty good guess.

"I see you stuck around," Judal says, before plopping on the couch right next to him. He sounds surprised but not upset, and somehow that spurs Hakuryuu on.

"I was worried about you," he says honestly, before he can help himself, and Judal's plastic smile fades.

"Oh," he says softly. Judal doesn't continue at first, instead settling deeper into the couch and ignoring the difficult conversation at hand. After awhile he sighs, and turns to face Hakuryuu. "I've known Sinbad since I was young and stupid. Like, stupider than I am now, if you can imagine."

"I'd rather not."

Judal laughs, and the mood starts to lighten, just a bit. "At least you're honest with me. But anyway, we didn't always see eye to eye. Er, we still don't, but I don't go around blowing up his shit anymore. Usually."

"Judal-"

"Really!" he says. "Jafar is his right hand man, and has been since before we met, so he's never liked me. Says I'm a bad influence on Sinbad or whatever, but he gets into stupid problems even without my help. So I'd give Sinbad help sometimes, and then fight with him other times, and then sometimes we'd make out and shit because I have really bad taste," Judal admits, and he almost has the decency to look ashamed.

"Ah," Hakuryuu says, trying to work through all the information Judal just gave him. "Is...Jafar jealous of you?"

"What? No, Sinbad is the biggest slut ever. They have some kind of understanding," he says, shaking his head. "Everyone says Sinbad's soooo good in bed, and he won't shut up about it. It's only half true, cause-"

"I really don't need to know that many details about Sinbad's personal life," Hakuryuu interjects before Judal can go any further.

Judal laughs again. "Sorry, I get off track easily. And that's not _that_ important, I guess. I mean. It's related to our history together-"

"Judal."

"Right! I won't tell you about Sinbad's dick."

" _Thank you_ ," he says emphatically.

Judal shrugs. "Your loss! Anyway, I kind of gave Sinbad the idea that he could live forever cause I bragged about my own abilities so much, and Jafar hasn't forgiven me for it because apparently every dangerous decision that Sinbad makes is my fault somehow."

"Is it, though?" Hakuryuu asks, and Judal frowns.

"No," he says firmly. "It's not. He wanted my help but I refused, because I would have had to devote too much of myself to serving him, and I wasn't willing to live in that cage, no matter how pretty it is."

There's a heavy silence now, all the light energy from earlier gone, and Hakuryuu isn't sure how to respond. Judal fidgets with a loose thread on his pants, not making eye contact, until he clears his throat and continues.

"Sinbad did something else to obtain his immortality. I don't know all the details, but he made some sacrifices that Jafar wasn't happy with. And so that's my fault or something," Judal says, looking put out. "And we do argue a lot...and I can have an explosive temper around them, sort of. I threw Jafar through a wall last time I saw them."

"And you wonder why he doesn't like you?"

Judal shrugs. "He didn't like me _before_ that, it's not like I made it worse."

"I'm sorry we ran into them," Hakuryuu says, attempting to comfort him, and Judal shakes his head.

"It's fine. It went better than most time I see him. No one got thrown into buildings, you know?" he says, sighing. "I just feel like a failure because I still haven't made any progress and it sounds like Sinbad knows everything already, so what's the point? I should just let the shining hero save the day again." Judal laughs hollowly and shakes his head.

Hakuryuu reaches over and takes his hand, and Judal grips back tightly. It's silent between them again, for a little.

"And I'm stupidly worried about something happening to you, okay?" Judal sounds so small and unsure that it feels wrong, but it's quiet, raw honesty.

"Oh," Hakuryuu says, and feels stupid for it. He should say something better, but-

"I know I'm weird," Judal says all in one breath, and Hakuryuu feels bad.

"I appreciate your concern," he says, trying again before Judal can say anything else. "I do. It's- I guess it's kind of sweet."

Judal's cheeks flush pink. "Yeah, I guess. Well, now that I've shared some of my tragic backstory, are you gonna bare your soul too?"

"My mother had my brothers killed," Hakuryuu blurts out, and Judal just stares at him.

"Shit dude, that is not what I expected from you," Judal finally says.

Hakuryuu can feel his cheeks burning from shame. "I'm telling the truth," he says defensively, though he knows it doesn't matter. It's about to be like Hakuei all over again. He's stupid; he should know better-

"What? Of course you are. It's just super fucked up, and you seem all...normal and shit," Judal explains, confusion in his eyes.

He breathes out in relief, and tries to smile. "No one believes me," Hakuryuu tells him, and Judal grips his hand tighter. It's grounding in a way, and he squeezes back.

"You're really not what I expected at all," Judal elaborates.

"You keep saying that," Hakuryuu says, and he shrugs.

"I thought you'd be boring."

"Oh, I see."

"But you're not, and- ugh, I don't know. I'm bad at shit like this," he admits, leaning forward to rest his forehead on Hakuryuu's. "I hate talking."

"No you don't," Hakuryuu says softly, teasing, and Judal blows a puff of air on his face. There's this quiet between them, and before the moment can pass, Hakuryuu turns his head just a bit, enough that he can lean the rest of the way in and kiss Judal.

There's a second of hesitation where Hakuryuu thinks he misread the situation, but then Judal kisses him back, reaching up with his free hand to tangle in Hakuryuu's hair. He tastes like peaches and power, and somehow feels exactly like he expected Judal to. He's clingy and needy, and he seems all too happy to be kissing him, the past few weeks of unspoken attraction and sexual tension all coming to a head as they desperately kiss each other.

Judal eventually pulls back for air, but only a little. He grins at Hakuryuu before crawling into his lap to kiss him better, leaving light kisses on his cheeks before finally kissing him properly again. Hakuryuu wraps an arm around his waist to keep him close, and Judal practically purrs as he squirms closer.

The next time they pull apart, Hakuryuu leans down to kiss Judal's neck before he can do anything else, and Judal shivers in response, trying to somehow force Hakuryuu closer.

"Mm, Hakuryuu," he gasps out, twisting so that he can nip at the tip of Hakuryuu's ear. He pauses from the sensation, mouth against Judal's neck, because he didn't realize that would be so sensitive. Judal seems to notice and teases at his ear, licking it oh so softly until Hakuryuu is gasping too, and he can see Judal's smirk in his mind.

"Nice," he whispers into his ear, before going back to nibbling on it. Hakuryuu bites at his neck in retaliation and Judal gasps loudly, squirming in his lap again.

"Judal-" Hakuryuu begins, though he's not sure where he's going with it.

"Yeah?" Judal leans back to look at him properly, and Hakuryuu can't help but think about how cute he looks with flushed cheeks.

"I- I don't know," he admits lamely, but Judal just grins.

"Cool, I'm gonna kiss you some more, then," he says, and does just that. It's somehow sweet and desperate all at once, and Hakuryuu isn't going to complain. Judal's lips are soft, and his hands feel good threaded in his hair. Hakuryuu teases at Judal's lower lip with his teeth, just a little bit, and Judal makes a happy, almost laughing noise against Hakuryuu's mouth before wrestling the kiss so that he's the one teasing Hakuryuu's lip. Hakuryuu lets him, and they stay like that for a while. But then something changes, Judal going almost stiff, and he breaks the kiss.

Judal pulls further back this time, and he can't quite meet Hakuryuu's eyes. He's still pink, and Hakuryuu reaches up to push his bangs out of his eyes.

"Stop that," Judal tells him but he doesn't sound upset.

"Why?" he asks, and Judal shakes his head.

"You're being too nice," he tries to explain, gesturing awkwardly.

Hakuryuu cocks his head. Every time he thinks he's starting to understand Judal, he's proven wrong. "Too nice?"

Judal looks flustered. "I'm not used to someone so sweet. It's cute, but-" he stops himself and squirms out of Hakuryuu's lap. "I have to go to bed."

"Um, okay," Hakuryuu replies, feeling lost. Did he do something wrong?

Judal gets up and starts to head to his room, before turning back to give Hakuryuu a quick kiss on the cheek. "Night," he says, going to bed and leaving Hakuryuu to his confusion.


	12. Chapter 12

full disclosure I wrote basically all that I've published so far for magi big bang back in May-June. however. the fic isn't even close to being over. which is good for all of you (or at least I hope!) but kind of bad for me because I am not great at planning ahead. I _do_ intend to keep up with the weekly update schedule, but we'll see how that goes. I haven't been super successful with updating chaptered fics on time basically...ever, so please bare with me.

last chapter got a lot of really amazingly sweet comments and I am still just overwhelmed from the kind feedback! thank you everyone who's been enjoying this fic :D

* * *

Judal greets him the next morning with breakfast pastries and a broad grin. He's already dressed and made up impeccably. "Morning!"

"Good morning," Hakuryuu says, eyeing up the breakfast offerings. "This is nice."

"Well, you cooked for me yesterday, so I went to the bakery down the street. Don't worry, I didn't borrow your car," he says, helping himself to a danish. "Anyway, we've gotta get moving!"

"Oh?"

"Mmhm, Sinbad called. He needs _my_ help," he says proudly, practically glowing.

Hakuryuu shakes his head, picking one of the less sugared pastries for breakfast. Unlike Judal, he needs something besides sweets to eat. "I see."

Judal deflates a little. "Don't look at me like that."

"You just seemed so upset yesterday-" he tries to say, but Judal interrupts.

"Whatever, I was totally overreacting! I'm fine, and I can show stupid Shitbad and his butt buddy that I'm better than them," he declares. "So eat up and let's go!"

Hakuryuu finishes his breakfast while Judal bounces around his home, full of nervous energy and excitement. He guesses they're not talking about last night, especially since Judal's focus is now firmly back on Sinbad.

"Sinbad knows where it is," Judal says, drawing his wand. "But he wouldn't tell me exactly where, because he's trying to control me or something. Lucky for us, I tracked it on my own!"

Hakuryuu gives up on trying to clean up the kitchen from breakfast and instead watches Judal work. He's focused on his magic, carefully drawing a sigil in the air in front of them. It glows, and Judal grins, offering Hakuryuu his hand. "Let's go!"

He takes one last look around, making sure he has his wand and any other necessities, and takes his hand. They walk through the sigil together and it takes them somewhere else entirely: the nondescript parking lot of an old convenience store with boarded up windows and trash scattered around it. Judal glances around, surveying the scene before walking up to the one car in the lot and knocking on the window.

"Yo, idiots, I'm here!" he declares loudly, and Sinbad and Jafar swing open the doors of the car, Sinbad's nearly hitting into Judal.

Jafar is glaring at them the whole time. "See, I told you he'd do this."

Sinbad just shrugs and laughs good naturedly. "I see you found the place on your own," he says, greeting them warmly.

"Of course I did. You made it easy enough," he says proudly. "So where is it hiding?"

Sinbad points across the street at an abandoned looking warehouse. "It's holed up in there, and we can't get through its defenses," he explains. "Its barrier is pretty sturdy, but you're particularly good at getting into places you shouldn't."

"I sure am!" Judal agrees. "I'm gonna blow it up."

Jafar cringes. "We are in public. You cannot just go after it-"

"Stopped listening, too boring," Judal says, cutting him off. He waltzes over fearlessly, drawing his wand as he gets closer. Hakuryuu follows closely after, grabbing his own wand as he does, with Sinbad and Jafar bringing up the rear. Judal taps his wand in the air until eventually it ripples around him.

"Found it," he says, firing off a blast of ice. It shatters against the barrier and Judal frowns.

"We tried attacking it already," Jafar tells him. "If you'd just listened to me, you'd know that."

Judal ignores him and his wand glows, twisting and changing into the same spear he used against Dunya. Hakuryuu can feel him drawing power in and focusing it into the very tip of the spear as he prepares a spell.

Jafar looks like he's going to complain again, and Sinbad merely waves a hand. "We do need his help, and I doubt anyone's watching right now."

Jafar scoffs. "You and your frustratingly good luck."

Judal grins widely and shoots another magical blast at the barrier. The swirling mass of black lightning splinters across the barrier without dispersing. He directs it with his staff, forming it back into a tight spear of magical energy, slamming into the barrier again and again until eventually the barrier ripples and bursts under the onslaught.

"Ha!" he proclaims gleefully. "You had problems with that? You really are stupid!" He walks through the splintered barrier without waiting for a response, leaving the rest of them to follow him in.

Inside the barrier, the air feels _wrong_ , like a heavier, amplified version of the energy they'd experienced both outside and at its victims' houses. The magic in the area feels sick, and Hakuryuu walks quickly to catch up to Judal. He's already forcing his way into the warehouse, wrenching open the front door with another spell before heading in.

Hakuryuu follows him through the door and has to stop to get his bearings. It looks like he's walked into a completely different place somehow; instead of a rusted out warehouse, it has the pristine cleanliness of a doctor's office. Everything is smooth white and chrome, and eerily quiet. It's still as spacious as a warehouse inside, with walls stretching on until the emptiness feels oppressive.

"Shit, that's weird," Judal says, looking around. "Where's it hiding?"

They look around, trying to find something out of place in the cavernous room, until Hakuryuu realizes that there's an extra wall in one of the back corners. "Probably back there," he says, pointing to where it's blended in with the white around it.

"It's a Barren Neotoma. You should know these things are defensive," Jafar explains as he and Sinbad join the other two. "Since Judal made such a ruckus, it's probably hiding."

Judal shrugs. "How else did you plan on getting in? I hit things until they work for me."

"Caution-"

"Let's get moving!" Judal interrupts, and once again heads off without waiting for anyone. Hakuryuu sticks close to him as they turn the corner of the wall, and he almost misses it.

The Barren Neotoma looks harmless at first, sitting on a pile of broken trinkets, until they get close enough to realize that there are human bones amidst the collection. It lifts its furry head to look at them, its eerily human hands toying with a shard of bone while it studies them, and for a second, Hakuryuu thinks about how Judal is both cute and incredibly dangerous, before he makes himself focus on the problem at hand.

"Aw, it's cute," Judal says. "Shame I shouldn't keep it for a pet."

"Maybe you should," Jafar tells him, and Hakuryuu grabs Judal before he can start another fight. Meanwhile, the Barren Neotoma is eyeing them up and fluffing itself up to look bigger.

Judal laughs. "Look at it, it thinks it can scare us," he says, pointing at it and laughing harder.

"I don't think we should taunt it," Sinbad says, drawing a sword that pulses with magic. Jafar pulls out daggers so quietly that Hakuryuu only just notices the light glinting off one of them, and it all makes him feel very unprepared and kind of lame. Why did he bother on coming along? He's not going to be any help.

Something flares out, a burst of magic, and they're all shoved back as another barrier starts to form around it. Jafar lashes out this time, shooting lightning from his weapons, and shattering the barrier before it can properly solidify.

Judal is already in the air, cackling as he unleashes his magic on it, and he's so much less reserved than the fight with Dunya. Maybe it's because he's out to kill instead of talk or perhaps he's trying to show off, but it's impressive either way. Hakuryuu falls back some, trying to take it in and figure out what he can do. It's hard, since he's so obviously out of his depth, and he feels like the failure he's always known he is.

Sinbad's fearless in the same ridiculous way Judal is, but Jafar is calculating, covering Sinbad's back with enough ease that he can still throw in a few experimental attacks of his own. The Barren Neotoma chirps in surprise and jumps aside, scuttling away from their strikes. The two pause to keep from staggering over the Neotoma's hoard, but Judal doesn't relent just because his prey is now on the move. He's so reckless that Hakuryuu can't help but focus on Judal and what's happening around him. The Barren Neotoma is still on the defense, but it starts lashing out with every hit it takes, turning the same magic back at its user.

Judal is so taken by the thrill of battle and his desire to best Sinbad that he doesn't see the thick spear of ice turn back at him. But Hakuryuu does, and he reacts almost without thinking. A vine wraps around Judal's waist and pulls him to Hakuryuu, out of harm's way, and they go flying to ground from the force. He stares into Hakuryuu's eyes with wonder as the fight rages around them, and Judal leans in, just a little. Hakuryuu's breath catches and he knows it's the worst time for this, but he's not going to stop Judal from kissing him.

The wall behind them crumbles on impact and the moment passes.

For a moment it seems like the wall is just going to fall backwards and they'll be thrown onto their backs, but otherwise be little worse for wear. Instead, the upper part of the wall keels forward, and the roof high above gives an awful, dying creak. Time seems to slow as Judal throws a barrier up around them to avoid the falling rubble, twisting to pull Hakuryuu closer to him. Sinbad is yelling in the background, but the wall buries them before they can move out of the way.

Hakuryuu waits for the dust to settle, hoping that it'll clear up some, but it's still dark. Judal's barrier held up under the weight of the concrete, though it still means they're stuck under it.

"Well, shit," Judal says, whistling at the mess they're in. He conjures a ball of light and Hakuryuu realizes his wand is small again, probably to keep it safe from the fall.

"Thank you," Hakuryuu says lamely, and Judal laughs.

"Shouldn't I say thank you? You saved me! I wasn't paying to enough attention to where it was throwing magic around," he says. "I mean, now we're stuck under all this crap, so that sucks."

Hakuryuu tries to get a better look around, now that there's light to see by. The barrier is a perfect sphere around them, with the rubble packed on top of it. At least they seem to have enough air to breathe.

"At least we're not hurt," he points out.

"Yeah, cause we've got this personal safety bubble!" Judal says happily, rapping his knuckles against it.

"Judal…"

"Yeah, I know. I'm trying to figure out how to get us out without getting smushed," he explains.

"Please."

They sit for a bit, Judal eyeing up their concrete prison, twirling his wand between his fingers until his face lights up with glee and understanding. "Got it! Let's get the fuck out of here!"

For some reason, Hakuryuu expects a careful, thought out escape, perhaps by slowly moving each hunk of rubble until they can get out safely. But Judal is nothing if not flashy, and instead their escape comes from a brilliant explosion of magical energy that sends the rubble flying in every direction. Judal's cackling as he pulls them out of it and back towards the fight, and, belatedly, Hakuryuu wonders if Judal thought about any of the consequences. Probably not. Hopefully he only hurt the Neotoma and not their allies.

Thankfully, the two seem alright, having moved well away once the collapse started. Sinbad waves at them from across the warehouse, unsurprised to see them unharmed. "See Jafar, I told you they'd be fine."

"Unfortunately he's rather hard to get rid of," Jafar admits, and Judal laughs at him.

"You should know that by now, Freckles. I'm like a cockroach!" His wand twists back into its longer form and he goes after their target with renewed vigor. The Neotoma chitters as it greedily partakes of the energy Judal lobs at it.

Hakuryuu frowns. If it's just eating or deflecting magic, throwing more at it isn't going to do anything. "Judal, come here!" he calls out, and surprisingly, Judal flies down to his side.

He looks Hakuryuu over. "What's up? Are you hurt or something?"

"No, I have an idea," he says, and Judal grins at him. "It eats magical items, right? Do you have anything cursed?"

Judal looks confused. "Hakuryuu, I'm not just carrying cursed items on my person at all times-"

"At the shop, Judal," he cuts in.

"Duh. Oh. Oh! I get it," he says, before drawing a teleportation sigil and heading through it. Hakuryuu watches Sinbad and Jafar continue to go after the Neotoma, jumping to avoid being hit as they try to get through its defenses. They haven't noticed Judal's disappearance, and he'd like to keep it that way for now.

"Got something!" Judal says, popping up behind him. He's carrying a mirror that radiates with magical energy and grinning, obviously pleased with himself. "It's like super cursed but I've masked it to just seem deliciously magical."

Hakuryuu looks it over. "Do you think it'll work?"

He shrugs. "Blowing it up hasn't worked yet! So I wanna try your idea."

Even as they're discussing their plan, the Barren Neotoma loses interest in fighting Sinbad and Jafar and comes closer, sniffing the air. Judal tosses the mirror from hand to hand, trying to lure it in.

"Yeah, you want this?" he asks, leaning casually against his staff. Sinbad and Jafar have turned to watch them, confusion evident on their faces. Hakuryuu has a hand on his wand, ready to pull Judal out of trouble if things go poorly, and the tension seems that much worse with the cold sterility of the building. Judal somehow still seems relaxed, even as he throws the mirror like he's playing catch with a pet. The Neotoma catches the mirror with ease in its eerie, humanoid hand and scuttles to safety to enjoy its prize.

"Judal!" Sinbad yells as the Neotoma devours the mirror, but Jafar gets to him first and punches him in the face.

"It gets stronger from eating magical items!" Jafar yells, pulling back to punch him again. Judal screeches, trying to pull free, and Hakuryuu has vines wrapped around Jafar's wrists before he can follow through.

"I'm not stupid!" Judal screams, finally squirming out of Jafar's grasp. Lightning shoots down the vines around his wrists and Judal slices them before the shock can reach Hakuryuu.

"It sure seems like it," Jafar snaps back, pulling the remains of vines from his wrists. Judal is back by Hakuryuu's side, angrily protective, and they can only hope their plan works.

Sinbad flies down to join them, looking just as upset. "What were you thinking?" he asks, and Judal rolls his eyes.

"You'll see," he answers, purposefully vague. Jafar looks ready to punch him again and Sinbad sighs. He opens his mouth to berate Judal, but pauses when the Barren Neotoma starts making confused, upset noises. It stops moving and curls in on itself, whining loudly and struggling, and Judal starts laughing.

"What did you give it?" Hakuryuu asks, curious.

Judal manages to compose himself enough to answer. "You know, I almost grabbed your pottery, but I didn't wanna clean up _that_ mess again. This one's all about bad luck!" Judal looks proud of himself.

"You threw bad luck at it?" Sinbad asks incredulously.

"Yep!"

"Wrapped up in something incredibly powerful?"

"Sure did."

Hakuryuu trusts Judal in a fight like this, but he's having trouble understanding his reasoning. He expected something more destructive. Sinbad and Jafar look similarly confused, but Judal still seems confident.

"Bad luck doesn't seem like a fast acting solution," Hakuryuu tries to point out delicately.

Judal grins wider, all teeth. "It's not just run of the mill bad luck, duh. Everything that could go wrong _will_. The last few owners died improbable - but still possible! - nasty deaths. Pretty quickly, too."

Jafar opens his mouth, probably to argue again, but Judal laughs before he can say anything. "See? Look at it!"

The Barren Neotoma has picked itself up again, looking far less soft and friendly. It comes after them, vicious with stolen energy instead of cautiously defensive, and they scatter to avoid it. Judal falls back beside Hakuryuu and goes on the defense for once, surrounding the two of them with a magical barrier.

"Judal-" Hakuryuu begins.

"Sorry!" he says. "I'm pretty sure it'll work though!"

Sinbad draws lightning down from above, scorching the ground around the Neotoma. It doesn't hit its mark but it doesn't reflect back this time either, which is some sort of progress.

Judal grins and starts to fight back again. Every attack gets closer, missing by less and less each time, but they're still not quite there. It rolls away, fighting back even as its attacks are slowly fizzing out as it loses power. It skitters into a puddle left over from some of Judal's ice magic earlier, and there's maniacal glee in Judal's eyes.

He aims lightning at the puddle and Sinbad follows his lead. There's an explosion of sparks and electricity, and Hakuryuu can hear Judal laughing over the roar. When the smoke clears, there's nothing but the fried husk of the creature left.

Judal flies them down - ignoring both Sinbad's warnings and Jafar's insistence that Judal be the idiot to get hurt if it's still alive - eager to inspect. It's not moving and there's an overwhelming burnt smell around it, but more telling than that, the air feels bereft of its power.

"Gross," Judal says cheerfully, before poking it with his staff. "It's dead!"

The white, sterile walls fade into grimy rusted out metal, like the building looked on the outside, and the last bits of magic in the air crumble away.

Sinbad joins them to look over it, followed reluctantly by Jafar.

Judal looks proud. "This was Hakuryuu's idea, you," he says, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "Guess he's better than you, Sinbad. You're getting old and slow!"

"Hey!" Sinbad says, frowning deeply. He looks insulted and almost self-conscious, probably because Judal knows the best way to get under his skin.

"Well, he _is_ ," Judal insists, pulling Hakuryuu closer. He's still vibrating with excitement and _power_ , and it's kind of nice to be praised. Even if Hakuryuu kind of feels like he's part of a competition he hadn't realized he'd entered.

Jafar looks around them, at the mess and debris left behind from the fight, and sighs. He grabs Sinbad by the arm and drags him away from Judal. "It's time to clean all this up."

Judal deflates. "What? No way! I said I'd help get rid of it, not be part of a stupid clean up crew," he whines before Hakuryuu can offer to help. "Especially since neither of you have praised our genius!"

"It was still risky," Sinbad tries to say, but gives up when Judal whines louder. "Thank you for your help. It was a good idea. Can you please help with the clean up?"

Judal shrugs. "I was gonna make you buy us dinner as payment, but if I have to stick around and clean it' ain't worth it."

Sinbad sighs. "I should have expected this from you."

"Yeah, you shoulda by now!" Judal reaches down, poking at the Barren Neotoma some more while Sinbad and Jafar discuss the logistics of cleaning up. It seems like just idle curiosity at first, but Hakuryuu sees Judal slip something into a pocket when he thinks no one is watching. He makes a mental note to ask Judal about it once they're alone. Once Judal is done looking around, he rejoins Hakuryuu.

"Ready to get out of here?" he asks, just quiet enough for only Hakuryuu to hear.

"We could be polite and help," Hakuryuu suggests, even though he knows the answer to that.

Judal scoffs. "He got the help he asked for. Monster gone, problem solved, I'm outta here," he says, reaching out to draw a teleportation sigil in front of them.

"See ya Shitbad, Freckles!" Judal yells, before pulling Hakuryuu through with him. They're back in Judal's living room and it's comforting to be in its more familiar magic than what they just dealt with. Judal looks pleased but a little rundown, and he flops on the couch.

"Well that was fun," he declares, curling deeper into the couch.

Hakuryuu politely takes his shoes off and joins him. Once he sits down, he realizes just how tired he is. Running around and actually using magic like he did today is exhausting. "I'm mostly tired," Hakuryuu finally says, and Judal nods.

"Me fucking too," he agrees. They sit in comfortable silence, tired but accomplished, until Hakuryuu can't resist asking Judal about what he saw.

"What did you take from it?" Hakuryuu asks, and Judal looks startled.

Judal has the good grace to look sheepish, but somehow maintains his cockiness. "You caught me, huh? It's just some residue left behind from all the magic it's eaten. If I'm right, it's pure power and I want it."

"But we cursed it," he points out, and Judal shrugs.

"Yeah, but it should be gone. I'm not gonna eat this without being careful though, don't worry! I've got it tucked away somewhere safe until I have time for it," he says.

"I see."

"You're still judging me," he whines, and Hakuryuu laughs at him good naturedly.

"I'm tired," he tries to explain. "I don't have much to say."

"Oh, so you get meaner when you're sleepy? Good to know," Judal says, but he seems consoled. He leans up against Hakuryuu, practically melting into his shoulder.

The couch is far too comfortable, and if he doesn't leave now, Hakuryuu knows he's not going to want to leave later. "I should go," he says, sitting up.

Judal frowns, crawling half into his lap to keep him in place. "You can stay if you wanna."

"Thank you, but-"

"You're tired, right? Just crash on the futon again," Judal interrupts. "I'll order takeout."

"You do that all the time," he says, but he's already giving in. "It's hardly a unique offer."

"Okay, okay, you got me. I'll go to that stupid hippie cafe down the street and get you a salad or wrap or whatever gross healthy food you want," Judal offers.

Hakuryuu raises an eyebrow. "That's quite the offer."

"I'm a fantastic host," Judal declares. "The absolute best."

"Okay," Hakuryuu concedes, much to Judal's delight. "And just order pizza or something. That sounds easiest." He's not going to force Judal back out of the house when he's easily just as tired.

"Oh, you really are a good friend," he replies, digging out his phone to look up a delivery place online. Hakuryuu leans back into the couch, overdone but oddly calmed by Judal at his side.


	13. Chapter 13

sorry for the sort of late update! I had a lot of editing to do for this chapter, but I think it turned out well. plz enjoy Judal being unable to keep his hands to himself~

* * *

"I _am_ going home today," Hakuryuu says over breakfast. He's been enjoying his time with Judal, but he is ready to finally get some to himself.

Judal almost drops his spoon in his sugary cereal. "Why?"

"I'm running out of clean clothes and-"

"I have laundry!" Judal tries to protest. "After breakfast I can show you where it is, and then you'll be good to go."

Hakuryuu shakes his head. "I'd like to get home, and your futon is uncomfortable."

"Oh, that's fair," Judal agrees, stabbing his spoon into the cereal. He looks sad, and Hakuryuu is struck by how little company Judal keeps. It's not like he has much of a social life either, but Judal seems to actually crave it. Still, he's not required to spend every second with Judal just because he's lonely.

After breakfast, Hakuryuu packs up his stuff while Judal follows him around like a pet that knows its owner is about to leave on a long vacation. Hakuryuu nearly trips over him once or twice, unaware of how close he's gotten. Eventually, though, Judal takes the hint, and hovers at the door while Hakuryuu glances over his packed belongings to make sure he isn't missing anything.

"Do you want the day off?" Judal offers. "I wasn't gonna bother opening up today anyway, since I'm still pretty wiped."

He nods. "I'd like that. Thank you."

Judal shrugs. "It's not a big deal," he says nonchalantly. "Don't get used to special treatment or anything." He's not looking at Hakuryuu now, and when Hakuryuu gives him an odd look, he realizes that this is his way of apologizing for being so petulant.

"I won't," Hakuryuu says, trying not to smile too much. Judal sticks his tongue out but doesn't say anything else, letting him pack the rest in peace.

Despite Judal's whining, Hakuryuu does go home. He starts some laundry and shoots his sister a text, something he should have done days ago. He hopes she isn't too worried about him. Chores and obligations tended to, he sits down on the couch to just relax for a bit.

His apartment feels quiet after spending so much time at Judal's. Maybe empty is a better word for it, though. It's missing the thrum of magic that seems ingrained in both the shop and the living space above it, and it's just not the same to be away from it.

He misses Judal, too, but he's not ready to think too deeply about that.

x･x･x

Hakuryuu returns to work the next day, feeling refreshed, and surprisingly the store is already open. Judal looks up from the counter when he comes in, chipper and bright eyed.

"Good morning," he says. "I made coffee!"

Well, that's probably why he's so energetic. "Oh?"

"Yeah! I finally went out and got a coffee maker yesterday," Judal explains, gesturing wildly as he talks. "I still had to buy coffee though, so I ended up at the coffee shop this morning anyway."

Hakuryuu follows him into the back room to find the coffee maker precariously balanced on top of the microwave. He'll have to spend part of today rearranging to make it fit somewhere that isn't a fire hazard.

"Thank you. Did you get creamer?" he asks.

Judal looks guilty. Oh dear. "I may have stolen your milk. And some of the honey I found on the shelf, which I also think is yours."

Hakuryuu sighs. "I'll just buy some next time I get groceries. Should I get filters too?"

"I dunno. Probably? And look, it's not my fault you bring such good food to work," he says. Judal sticks around while Hakuryuu tries to put his lunch away and get some coffee, getting in the way.

"You could always get yourself better food. Grocery stores do sell more than instant noodles and peaches," he points out, shooing Judal aside.

Judal whines, getting right back into Hakuryuu's personal space. "We can't all have fabulous riches effortlessly, you know. I work hard, slaving away every day with annoying customers…"

"Uh huh."

"Also instant noodles are so much easier."

Hakuryuu chuckles. "That's what I thought."

"Maybe I can just have you cook for me from now on," Judal teases, leaning over Hakuryuu's shoulder. "Then I won't have to steal your food anymore, because it'll be my food too."

"Maybe." Hakuryuu rolls his eyes. "How about we actually work some first?"

Judal pouts and heads out of the office. "We should probably play catch up with important paperwork shit today," he says as he goes.

Hakuryuu settles in to check the books. Nothing major needs to be fixed, just Judal's messy handwriting leading to unclear information. Hakuryuu has been debating talking to him about investing in an updated computer system, but he knows how Judal feels about change. For now, he'll just keep things in order without complaint.

It's easy to fall back into their rhythm; it's comfortable after the stress they just went through and so familiar Hakuryuu almost can't remember what it was like to not be wrapped up in Judal's life. He's not sure how he feels about that.

x･x･x

"You gonna get back to practicing magic?" Judal asks the next day, interrupting Hakuryuu's current task of cleaning out the minifridge. Why does Judal leave so much in it if he lives upstairs? He'll never understand.

"I am," he answers. "I've just been fixing things. It got messy while we were dealing with the Neotoma, and you have a unique skill for making all messes worse."

Judal shrugs. "Yeah, yeah, I'm a big gay disaster, I know it. But you don't have to drive yourself crazy getting it done."

"I'm not. I just like to keep things clean," he points out. Judal perches on the desk to watch him work, narrowly avoiding sitting on some papers.

"That's what got you into this mess with me in the first place."

Hakuryuu pauses to look at him. "That doesn't make cleaning evil."

"If you say so!"

He ignores Judal and gets back to work, wiping sticky fruit juice from every crevice. When Judal realizes that Hakuryuu won't be paying him anymore attention, he hops off the desk and heads back into the store, leaving Hakuryuu to his task. Once Hakuryuu is done, the minifridge almost looks new. With it clean, the room is perfect once more, save for taking out the trash at the end of the night. He feels accomplished and decides to check on Judal.

He finds Judal dealing with a customer, and he looks like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"No, I don't have another one in the back," Judal tells the customer and she sighs loudly.

"Well, you better give me a discount on this one then. I'm not paying full price for the floor model," she snaps at him.

Judal's eyebrow twitches. "Lady, I don't think you understand what kind of store this is. Everything's a one of a kind antique."

She purses her lips at that. "I'm sure people have sat on this and messed with it," she says, pointing at a bench. "You're trying to sell me used furniture for the same price as a new one."

Hakuryuu can see Judal's fingers clench, almost reaching for his wand, before he exhales slowly. "Do you know what an antique is?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I don't think you know what an antique is, or you wouldn't be bitching about it not being used," Judal snaps. He's no longer the suave and somewhat weird shopkeeper and instead looks like he's one breath from yelling. Hakuryuu wonders how long he's been dealing with this lady.

She tries to get another word in, but Judal just keeps talking. "Antique means it's an old piece of whatever and that's _why_ it's valuable. So it's all fuckin' used here."

She looks taken aback, her mouth gaping slightly open as she tries to respond to him. "That is such unprofessional language! I want to see your manager. He should know about how you treat customers," she demands, and Judal grins at her.

Hakuryuu waits for him to declare that he's the owner and that she can get the hell out of his store - his usual response to difficult people - but instead he turns and gestures at Hakuryuu. "Of course. Mr. Ren here would be happy to talk to you," Judal says, fake sweetness dripping from every word.

Hakuryuu straightens, surprised. He opens his mouth to disagree, but Judal apparently has some sort of plan that he's not privy to. He supposes he looks more professional than Judal, but still. A warning would be nice. The customer makes her way over to the counter, flustered and offended.

"Your employee is so unprofessional! He tried to sell me a used floor model for the same price as a new one, and then he mocked me and used offensive language when I caught him in his lie."

"With all due respect ma'am, this is an antiques store. All our merchandise is secondhand," Hakuryuu tries to explain diplomatically. Judal is behind her making silly faces, out of her sight but right where Hakuryuu can see him, and it's hard to keep a straight face.

She looks confused. "I don't understand. No one would pay this much money for something _old_."

"Well, we actually make a lot-"

"No, that can't be right. You all must be lying to your innocent customers! Who's the owner of this place?" she asks, raising her voice as she gets more frustrated.

Judal comes up behind Hakuryuu and drapes himself over his shoulders. "Charmed to meet you. Are you done bothering my partner, or do I have to throw you out myself?"

"I am never shopping here again!" she yells, before turning on her heel and leaving. Judal finally laughs, holding onto Hakuryuu to support himself.

"I can't believe you made me deal with her," Hakuryuu tells him, trying to be playfully offended.

Judal shakes his head, trying to contain his laughter. "I needed to compose myself. I was gonna wring her stupid, entitled neck," he explains.

"That's fair."

"And you look so boring and official. No offense or anything. I should let you deal with problem customers more often," Judal says. He hops up on the counter, dangling his legs off the edge while Hakuryuu straightens up the mess around the register.

"So I'm your manager now? Can I punish you for insubordination?" he asks, and there's a mischievous glint in Judal's eyes.

"Oh Hakuryuu, I didn't know you wanted to play dirty at work," Judal says, leaning forward. Hakuryuu's cheeks burn; why does Judal turn the worst things into innuendo? When Hakuryuu doesn't respond, he pouts. "What, I don't even get a kiss for that?" Judal whines, tugging on Hakuryuu's shirt.

"That was terrible," he says, but he kisses Judal anyway. Technically speaking, it's highly unprofessional to kiss your boss on the job, but it's _nice_ to relax and let himself be close to someone else. It feels natural, like it had been there for a while even before they acknowledged it. Still, he can't let this become a habit, at least not at work.

Judal pulls back, all smiles. "Not as terrible as that lady. Shit, I hope she chokes on a cursed dick and dies."

"You can't wish death on bad customers," he says.

"Fucking stop me," Judal shoots back, grinning. "She's just lucky I didn't curse her for reals."

He shakes his head. "How do you own a business?"

"Cause I'm tenacious, and I try not to kill _all_ my customers."

x･x･x

Judal doesn't force him to practice magic, but he does get him a book to help. It's called ' _Life Magic: The Most Malleable Type,'_ and it's significantly more helpful than Judal's instructions. He means well, but Hakuryuu has realized that they understand magic in very different ways.

He spends their down time sitting at the counter reading, taking notes, practicing if there aren't any customers around, and watching Judal flit around the shop. Judal barely sits still even when there's no one else there, and he has a surprising talent for following customers subtly, always there when they need something without getting in the way.

Right now, he's helping a harried looking woman find a purse. Just from glancing at her, Hakuryuu can see threadbare clothes and shoes so worn they're almost useless. He almost feels bad; she probably came here hoping to find something cheap, but cheap isn't really a price that Judal knows.

"Oh no, I think that one's going to be too much," she says, putting down one of the larger bags. "My dog destroyed the strap on my old one, so I just need a temporary one I guess."

Judal nods. "Yeah, that sucks! Lemme see what I've got for you."

She picks up some of the nicer ones but puts down even more quickly, like she doesn't think she should be touching them. She follows Judal further into the shop and Hakuryuu can't quite hear them anymore, so he goes back to reading.

They return, the customer clutching a purse tightly and Judal chatting away politely. "As I was saying, I've had this one just sitting around for awhile, so I'm glad you wanna take it off my hands."

She looks at it some more. "Are you really sure?"

He shrugs. "Yeah, I've needed someone to take it off my hands," he repeats. The purse she's holding is nice, definitely not junk that's just been sitting around. Sure, Judal. Hakuryuu isn't here to tell him how to run his business, so he moves aside to let Judal ring her up.

Judal charges her far less than it's worth and produces a fake flower with a flourish. "And you can have this for free, since you did me a favor."

The flower radiates magic, it's soft and warm like a nice spring day where nothing can go wrong. Hakuryuu can't quite place what its purpose is, but it doesn't feel harmful in the least.

She flushes slightly, maybe because it's unexpected or because Judal is so oddly pretty, and tucks the flower in her new purse. "Thank you," she says graciously, heading out.

Hakuryuu waits until the door ha closed behind her to question Judal. "What did you give her?"

"A good deal," he answers vaguely, trying to hide a grin.

"Judal, you know that's not what I meant."

"Oh, did you notice the charm?" he asks coyly.

"I'm not stupid. I also know _you_ probably paid more than five dollars for that bag," Hakuryuu says, and Judal shrugs.

"I felt bad for her. Apparently she left her crazy abusive boyfriend, but he was the one supporting her and her kid. So now she's got no money and some little brat to take care of," he says.

"Why do people tell you things?"

"I dunno, I'm here? Sometimes I feel like I should be charging them for therapy, but whatever, some people think I'm relatable and easy to talk to." He leans against counter, seemingly content with his explanation.

Hakuryuu pries more. "What was the flower?"

Judal shrugs again and Hakuryuu raises an eyebrow. "It was a good luck charm. I don't _only_ curse people. Just cute boys who are looking for trouble."

"I was not looking for trouble," he argues, and Judal laughs.

"Well, you found it anyway," he laughs. "But don't worry about it. That charm's too simple to cause any problems."

Hakuryuu nods. "I see." Every passing day Hakuryuu spends with Judal, his employer seems both one step more understandable and ten times more baffling. Cursing out stupid customers one day, blessing people with good luck and good deals the next. Hakuryuu sighs and goes back to his instructional book.

What a strange man.


	14. Chapter 14

Zagan returns! Hakuryuu plays with magic! the boys are super cute! all good things~ I had a lot of fun writing the very end of this chapter, so please enjoy :D see y'all next week!

* * *

Hakuryuu sits at the counter, reading and taking notes while the store is slow. It's been a quiet morning and he's enjoying the peace. He likes that he can sit for hours with Judal without it turning into an awkward silence or either of them forcing conversation. Judal is an antsier person, however.

"I'm taking this stupid bench into storage," Judal declares, breaking the calm and pointing at the offending piece of furniture. "I swear only the rudest people want it."

Hakuryuu looks up from his book. "Isn't that what the woman who didn't understand antiques wanted?"

"Sure fucking is! And some guy called me about it last night with this whole sob story about how I should just give it to him cause he's like, unable to afford it but it would look _perfect_ in his backyard," Judal groans. "So fuck this bench!"

"I see."

Judal sticks his tongue out. "Don't you say that, or I'll make you deal with this guy. He comes in every once in awhile begging for free shit."

"I guess I can accept that. You did make me a manager," Hakuryuu points out, and Judal laughs.

"Point taken! You can deal with all the morons from now on," he says. "Or at least for the next half hour or so. I really am putting this back in storage." Judal draws his wand and lifts the bench with magic, floating it in front of him as he carefully heads into the back.

Hakuryuu sets aside his book to better watch the store. Even if it's empty now, he likes to be prepared.

Not long after, someone does come in and he's particularly glad he was prepared. Zagan seems judgemental before he can even say hello, but he's beginning to think that might just be how he always is.

"Oh, _you_ ," Zagan says instead of hello. Maybe disappointment is his way of greeting people.

"Good afternoon. Are you looking for Judal?" Hakuryuu asks. Zagan makes himself comfortable on one of the plush chairs near the counter and shakes his head.

"No, I suppose I can deal with you for now. He's flitting around here somewhere, isn't he?"

He nods. "He's in the back."

"Did he solve that magic eating problem?" Zagan asks, filling the awkward silence between them. He looks significantly more human here than he did in his home. It makes sense he would use magic to disguise himself when outside of his home, but something about seeing something so powerful seem so normal makes Hakuryuu feel uneasy.

"We did. It was a Barren Neotoma," he explains. "But it's gone now."

"Oh good, those are nasty little buggers. They don't crop up much anymore, but they used to be such a blight," Zagan says, pulling a face before looking at Hakuryuu with doubt. "Did you really help him out?"

Zagan's staring at him now, like he's waiting for a certain answer, and it's very unsettling. All Hakuryuu's thoughts about Zagan seeming more human feel silly now; even if the skin is human, the being inside is not. "I did," he answers. "I'm not great with magic yet, but I did come up with the solution that worked."

"Oh?" Zagan leans forward, encouraging him.

"We fed it a cursed item. Judal picked a mirror that gave it bad luck and that led to it getting electrocuted," Hakuryuu elaborates. "I would have chosen something more explosive, but it worked well."

"Most curses don't cause you to blow up immediately," Zagan says. "That was clever, though."

"Thank you," he says, not sure what to do with the praise. Zagan sits quietly for a bit and Hakuryuu rearranges some of the papers on the counter. Judal has receipts in the wrong place again, so that needs to be fixed.

"What are you proficient in? Power?" Zagan asks, and it takes him a moment to realize he means magic.

"No, life," he corrects, and Zagan's face lights up.

"Oh, you're one of _mine_ then," he says almost gleefully. "I mean it's a shame you're utterly useless right now, but Judal has no idea what to do with a life mage. That boy is so good at everything else, and yet he just doesn't have the aptitude for it. Pity."

Hakuryuu feels his cheeks flush. "I'm not useless-"

"Oh no, you are. Good at problem solving, but you'd be destroyed without Judal around," Zagan says matter-of-factly. Hakuryuu steels himself against the insults; it's not his fault he just learned about magic recently. Not everyone can be ancient magical beings. "Let me see your wand."

"Excuse me?"

"You _do_ have one, right? I hope Judal isn't that terrible of a teacher," Zagan says, getting up to join him.

Hakuryuu pulls his wand out from under the counter and hands it over. Zagan immediately wrinkles his nose at it in disgust, practically flinging it down.

" _This_ is what he gave you? What an idiot," he snaps, before digging around in his bag. He eventually produces a wand, though it's quite different from the sleek, polished one Judal gave him. It's more organic and raw; it looks like something that Zagan grew in his strange plant filled house. Hakuryuu wouldn't be surprised if it was.

"I've had this just sitting around, and I don't need it," Zagan explains, pressing it into Hakuryuu's hands. The wand pulses with power, and it feels natural and familiar and _right_.

Hakuryuu grips it tightly. Accepting gifts from strange magical men may not be a good idea, but he likes the feel of this wand. He knows better than to pass up this kind of opportunity. "Thank you," he says graciously.

Zagan waves a hand dismissively. "It's nothing. Like I said, it was just taking up space."

"I still appreciate it," Hakuryuu tries to say, only to be interrupted by Judal's return.

"I finally got that piece of shit stashed- hey, plant-fucker! What are you doing here?" Judal asks, pointing at Zagan dramatically.

"Aren't you delightful," Zagan says, shaking his head. "I just wanted to see if you had anything interesting right now."

Judal saunters over to the counter and drapes on Hakuryuu, something he's begun to realize Judal likes to do when he's feeling possessive. "Oh, so you're here to gossip. Well, I saw Sinbad recently-"

"Honestly, your interest in that man is embarrassing," Zagan cuts in, clicking his tongue.

" _No_ , he's lame now! Hakuryuu totally showed him up, and this was after Sinbad has already called me for help cause he's dumb and can't figure shit out on his own," Judal says proudly. "So there!"

Zagan shrugs. "I don't care about your little human relationship drama. I see you've taken care of your other little issue though, so hopefully you won't be back to bother me."

"If you're lucky!"

"If only," he says. "I hear you're trying to teach Hakuryuu magic."

Judal nods enthusiastically. "Yeah, he's learning! I got him some good books-"

"You have to know that you are possibly the worst person to be teaching him," Zagan says, and Judal's face falls. "You're incompetent when it comes to life magic."

"So? I'm still teaching him," Judal responds, pouting. Hakuryuu feels bad; he knows Judal's been trying to help even if he's not the best at it.

"Of course, and he's not going to get far with that terrible wand you gave him. What did you do, dig it out of the back somewhere? Lucky for both of you, I had an extra sitting around," Zagan informs him. "Anyway, I already had a look around while you were messing around the back, so I'll see you another time. Preferably not any time soon."

Judal looks at him strangely, but surprisingly doesn't complain anymore. "Yeah, sure Zagan. I'll make sure it's at a _great_ time."

"Thank you again," Hakuryuu says before Judal can say anything else rude. "I really am grateful. This feels much better-"

"Yes, yes, that's enough," Zagan cuts him off. "I don't need to hear your mushy words." With that, he waltzes out.

There's a moment of silence before Judal turns to Hakuryuu, clearly shocked. "What did you do to him?" he asks, confused.

"Zagan?" Judal nods, but this doesn't make his question any clearer. "What do you mean?"

"He gave you a wand?" Hakuryuu sets it down and Judal pokes it delicately, like he's afraid it might bite. When it doesn't, he looks back at Hakuryuu expectantly.

"Mmhm. He said it was an extra and insisted I take it. I know that might not be wise, but it feels like a much better match for me," he answers, taking the wand back.

Judal shakes his head. "Okay, first of all, Zagan doesn't just keep wands sitting around. It's not like he needs new ones or anything. And second of all, he can't stand humans! I'm an exception, and he still barely stand me," Judal says, frowning. "He better not think he can steal you or some shit."

Hakuryuu shrugs. "I did say thank you."

"Ugh, I hate dealing with him. He's so unpredictable," Judal whines, leaning against the counter. It's kind of funny to hear them talk about each other; Hakuryuu has figured out that they're actually decently good friends but they like to pretend they don't care a bit for the other.

"And you're not?" Hakuryuu points out. The wand feels good in his hands, and he points it at a long forgotten succulent in a windowsill. Its leaves unfurl and brighten from a dried brown to a lush and lively green, and a smaller flower blooms. Judal watches, entranced, and claps when he's done.

"Fancy!" he says, grinning. "That's a new trick."

"It just came naturally," Hakuryuu explains. Everything feels different; it's like he discovered magic all over again, and the world feels so much brighter and more alive, in a sense that he can tap into it more. Zagan must have been right about his old wand.

Judal nods along. "That's how it should feel. I guess I should have found you something better…" he trails off, worry creeping into his eyes. It's an uncommonly vulnerable look for him.

"I've got this now, so don't worry about it," he says, holding the wander closer. Now that he has it, he doesn't want to run around looking for something else.

"I know, jeez, don't get your panties in a twist. I just hate letting Zagan upstage me," he whines. "I hope you don't turn my shop into a fucking jungle."

"Why would I do that?"

"You know, cause Zagan's stupid plant house, and he gave you that…" Judal trails off when Hakuryuu continues to stare at him. "Look! I'm smart! I have concerns!"

Hakuryuu laughs when the tension breaks. "I promise I won't turn the shop into a 'stupid plant house.'"

"Now you're just mocking me."

"Never."

Judal pouts until Hakuryuu ruffles his hair, and there's a sweet, warm smile on his face. It's nice. He's still a little unsure of what he is to Judal, but for now what they have feels right.

x･x･x

Hakuryuu spends the next few evenings revitalizing the plants in his apartment. He's always liked having some greenery in his living space, but some of them never quite recovered after the incident with the pottery. This is a chance to finally fix that.

He coaxes new life into a nearly dried up aloe plant until its leaves are once again filled. A spider plant grows heartier and its babies spill over the side of the pot. He'll have to go out and get some new pots to plant them later, but for now he has more work to do.

His herb garden hasn't been producing much lately. With a little magic, it's practically overflowing, and he decides to find a use for it that he can share.

Judal gushes over the fresh rosemary bread Hakuryuu brings in, eating thick slices with butter while he tries to steal Hakuryuu's lunch. He only relents when he sees the dill leaves on the salmon, and Hakuryuu has to chuckle a little. Judal's aversion to anything that could possibly be a vegetable sometimes works in his favor and leaves Hakuryuu with a delicious lunch.

Hakuryuu has never tried to stand out: sit quietly, keep your head down, and maybe your mother won't bother you today. So he listens. Judal's magic is loud and powerful, even when it's subtle. His shop is brimming with it if you know how to look. Hakuryuu sits quietly, one hand wrapped around his wand, listening to the pulse of life in his home, in the shop, in the cafe down the street, in the grocery store. Anywhere he goes is a new opportunity to figure out the inner workings of the world.

He feels everything, whispers between leaves down to the microorganisms in the air, and those strike a chord with him. They seem useful. If he just adds a little of his own magic...

"What the hell is that thing?" Judal asks from the office doorway. Usually if he tells him he's working on accounting, Judal will leave him alone, but apparently not today.

"It's a microorganism," he explains, swatting Judal's hands away from his newly enlarged project. "Please don't touch it."

"It doesn't look very micro to me. More like a macro-whatever," Judal says, frowning at the shifting, eyeless creature squirming across the desk.

Hakuryuu turns it around with his wand. "Well, yes. I made it bigger."

"Yeah, I'm seeing that." Judal goes quiet and watches Hakuryuu work for awhile. It's nice. Maybe they can do this more often. The microorganism grows gradually, and Hakuryuu enjoys the effort of transforming its lifeforce.

"Why?" Judal inevitably asks. Hakuryuu isn't sure he has a good answer, but Judal is hardly one to talk.

"I wanted to see if I could," he says simply, and Judal grins widely.

"Of course, why else?" He tries to pet it again.

"Stop that," Hakuryuu snaps. "I'm still trying to figure out if it's safe to touch, and what I want to do with it."

Judal eyes it up some more. "We should keep it as the store pet. Like a super gross one!"

"It's not a pet."

"But it _could_ be."

"No, Judal."

"Well, you don't know what else to do with it," he grumbles. "I guess I'll let you play mad scientist some more."

"That's not at all what I'm doing," Hakuryuu tries to explain as Judal is sauntering out.

He pauses. "I liked it better when you brought me food," he whines, before heading back into the main room of the shop.

Hakuryuu laughs, getting back to work. He'll just bribe Judal with sweets next time he needs to practice anything in peace.


	15. Chapter 15

just a quick heads up: I'll be traveling next week for my anniversary! I'll try to get the next chapter updated on time, but I'm not sure what the internet situation is gonna be like at the hotel. fingers crossed! :D

* * *

Judal wanders into the shop later than usual, looking like it's the day before laundry day with less than perfect makeup. He's still made up nicely, but Hakuryuu, who sees him almost every day, can tell it's simpler than usual.

"Good morning," he says, and Judal smiles sleepily.

"I know it's not still morning," he responds, joining him at the counter. "But you're sweet to pretend for me."

"You're late," Hakuryuu tells him, just to see what he does.

Judal sticks his tongue out. "It's my store, I can open whenever I want. I was up late, okay? I got lost on eBay, and then got into a bidding war for some stupid shit, and I don't even know if I won cuz I fell asleep in the middle of it," he explains, leaning up against Hakuryuu. "Why am I like this?"

"There are muffins in the back if you want any," Hakuryuu says and Judal's eyes light up. He doesn't always know how to fix Judal's problems, but he does know how to make him temporarily happy. Judal bounces off to the back room, full of energy, and Hakuryuu smiles.

"Shit, these are so good. What do you bake with, crack?" he asks, mouth full of chocolate muffin.

He gives Judal a look. "Can you really see me putting illegal substances into baked goods?"

Judal laughs, getting crumbs everywhere. "Fuck, you're right! I can't even imagine you _buying_ drugs, let alone using them. What would you do, go up to someone and say: 'Hello, may I please purchase one marijuana?'"

"You're an asshole," he says, trying to hide his smile. "Stop making a mess."

"I do what I want!"

"Maybe you should clean it up then," Hakuryuu points out, and Judal frowns. He's pretty sure that Judal has some sort of strange aversion to cleaning, but Hakuryuu is determined to at least keep the store clean. And maybe someday, Judal's home.

"No-" Judal begins, but stops when he hears the bell above the door. A blond haired man comes in, and Hakuryuu looks at him oddly. He seems almost familiar, but he just can't place why. Judal shoves the rest of the muffin in his mouth and smiles pleasantly, leaving Hakuryuu to greet him.

"Welcome, how may I help you?"

The customer's head whips around and his eyes widen. Oh. Oh, he thinks he knows who this is.

"Hakuryuu?!" the man exclaims, coming over to see him better. Like he thought, the man standing in front of him is an old classmate. This is kind of embarrassing.

He nods. "Hello, Alibaba."

Alibaba smiles widely. "Aw man, I haven't seen you in years! What were the chances?"

"Pretty good, since it happened," he points out, and Alibaba laughs.

"You're still a joker, I see," he says. Hakuryuu can feel Judal next to him, a ball of unasked questions ready to burst, and he tries to diffuse the conversation as much as possible.

He can deal with this. If he can just help him shop quickly, it shouldn't be too bad. Hakuryuu leaves the counter and joins Alibaba. "Well, what did you come in here for?"

Alibaba shrugs. "I dunno, it looked cool so I was just gonna browse. But this is even better! Now we can catch up."

"That's alright. I wouldn't want to keep you from shopping," he says, trying not to let his disappointment show.

"Come on Hakuryuu, I won't keep you from catching up with your little friend," Judal practically purrs, and Hakuryuu surreptitiously glares at him. Judal smiles back like he's an innocent of making the situation more awkward.

Alibaba turns back to look at Judal. "Oh crap, I'm being super rude. Is this your boss?" he asks, but doesn't wait for an answer. "I'm Alibaba. Hakuryuu and I went to high school together, but we haven't really kept in touch…"

"Mm, I see," Judal says, still smiling. It's starting to get a little creepy, but Alibaba doesn't seem to notice. Typical. He probably thinks Judal is always this friendly. "I'm Judal, and this is my shop, but Hakuryuu would be more than happy to help you out and chat."

Hakuryuu does his best not to strangle Judal with the plant behind him. It's tempting; he could coax it into growing long tendrils and wrap them around Judal's pretty neck, but the responsible thing to do is be a polite and distant salesman. He can do that.

"Thanks! You have a pretty cool boss," Alibaba tells him, before finally starting to look around the shop. Hakuryuu just nods, hoping the conversation ends there. But of course it doesn't. "Have you kept up with anyone else?"

He shakes his head. "Not really," Hakuryuu says. Why would he? "College kept me pretty busy."

Alibaba nods in agreement. "Yeah, me too. But hey, now that I know you're in the area, you should totally hang out with us again. Er, Aladdin and Morgiana, that is," he elaborates. "Aladdin and I have an apartment together now that he's done with undergrad." He picks up a few decorative plates as he's walking around, and Hakuryuu tries not to hover nervously. He doesn't want Alibaba to break anything.

"That sounds nice," he says placidly. Alibaba doesn't notice his lack of enthusiasm and plows forward.

"He got into a graduate program right in the city so we're all living in the same area again. Morgiana's done with school too, but she's working as a bouncer…"

"As a bouncer? Why?" Hakuryuu interrupts, concerned. That hardly sounds like a safe job for her.

Alibaba frowns. "Well, she's still job hunting for something related to her degree. But I really worry about her! I know she can kick anyone's ass, but that doesn't mean she should have to put herself at risk all the time."

Hakuryuu nods. At least this is something they can agree on. "That still seems unsafe."

"Yeah, I know. It shouldn't be for long, hopefully, just until she finds something better," he explains. "I guess _you_ get it though?"

"What do you mean?"

Alibaba waves him closer and leans in, trying to whisper and failing. "Well, you're not gonna be working here forever, right?"

Hakuryuu resists glancing back at Judal, but he can feel him watching, probably listening too. "It's a decent job for now," he decides on, unsure of how else to sum up the magical contract dictating his fate.

It's enough to satisfy Alibaba at least. He keeps picking things up and putting them down in the wrong places, and it's taking a lot of patience not to snap at him. Was Alibaba always this oblivious and inconsiderate? Probably. "You really should join us for dinner or something," Alibaba insists.

"I'll see," he says, and he hears Judal snort. Sure, he laughs, but it's not like Judal makes an effort to have an active social life either.

Alibaba picks up a decorative oil lamp that looks like it's directly out of 1001 Nights or perhaps, Judal's jewelry collection. "Oh man, this is so cool! You know, it kind of reminds me of Aladdin, I bet he'd like it in the apartment. We do need some sort of decorations, since we just moved in, and it's still so empty looking."

It doesn't feel magical from a distance, but Hakuryuu takes it from him to get a better look. Now that he's holding it, he can tell it does have some sort of magical residue. It feels different than anything else he's seen, sort of like it's old and dormant. He'll get Judal to give it a price just to be safe. "Let me ask Judal about this one."

"Shit, it's not too expensive, is it?" he asks, distressed. "I'm kinda broke right now."

"I'm not sure. This is Judal's area of expertise."

Judal glides up behind him and plucks the lamp from his hands. He makes a show of turning it over, carefully inspecting every inch, before facing Alibaba. "You picked something quite interesting," he says vaguely, running a finger over its handle.

"Oh?" Alibaba asks enthusiastically while Hakuryuu resists rolling his eyes. Judal's flair for the dramatic is ridiculous sometimes, and he still can't believe he was taken in by it at first.

Judal nods safely. "It may just look like a pretty piece of decoration, but legend says it was home to a genie that granted wishes," he says, passing the lamp back to Alibaba. "Both kings and villains sought its power for centuries, but over time its nature twisted into something far too devious to be trusted."

Alibaba's eyes are wide as Judal weaves the story of the lamp, but Hakuryuu just wants to know how much of it is truth and how much is Judal's theatrics.

"Eventually, a great hero sealed it in the lamp and forced it into a permanent slumber, to protect anyone who stumbled upon the lamp unaware," Judal finishes. Alibaba is clutching it closely, nodding along.

"Seriously? That's so badass! I gotta have it," Alibaba says. Apparently ridiculous stories can make his financial problems disappear.

Judal grins and it's far too wide for Hakuryuu to feel safe. Damn it, Judal. "Of course you do. But you have to make sure not to wish on it."

"Uh," Alibaba stammers. He glances at Hakuryuu with an incredulous look, like he's wondering if Judal is for real.

"Just because it's sleeping doesn't mean it's gone forever. You wouldn't want to risk waking it up," Judal says, and Alibaba nods.

"Right! So how much is it?"

Judal shrugs before taking it back from Alibaba. "Hmm, despite its fabulous backstory it isn't that magnificent on its own. How about twenty-five bucks?"

"That's fine!" Alibaba agrees happily, following Judal to the register. Hakuryuu stays behind to straighten the mess Alibaba left, but he keeps his eyes on them. The air feels odd in the shop now, similar to the first night he was ever here, and he wants to know what Judal is planning.

Judal wraps the lamp carefully, puts it in a sturdy box, and sets it on the counter while Alibaba digs out his wallet. "Remember, don't try to wish on it," Judal insists, pulling out a copy of the store policy and sliding it towards Alibaba. "Wishes turn bad in its hands."

"I got it," Alibaba says, signing the policy without concern. Judal takes it and Alibaba's credit card without commenting, ringing him up and stapling the receipts together with a flourish. "Hey, can I get some paper?"

Judal looks confused but passes rips out some extra receipt paper and hands it over. Alibaba scribbles something on it and waves at Hakuryuu, leaving his bag on the counter to come back over to him.

"Here's my number," he says, shoving the paper into Hakuryuu's hands before he complains. "Text me later, okay? It was great to see you again."

Hakuryuu folds it up and sticks it in a pocket for now. "It was good to see you, too."

Alibaba grins and grabs his bag from Judal. "Nice meeting you, too!" he calls out as he leaves.

Judal turns to grin at Hakuryuu, looking for all the world like a cat that got the canary. "Here I thought you didn't have friends," he says, cackling.

"We're more like acquaintances," he corrects, frowning. "You're such an asshole."

This just makes Judal laugh more. "Yeah, I know."

"That wasn't a compliment."

Judal shrugs and tucks Alibaba's signed receipt in a folder. Hakuryuu narrows his eyes, watching him; he's treating it with much more care than usual.

"What did you sell him?" he finally asks, unable to stop himself.

"Do you think I lied to your innocent, gullible friend? You wound me," he says, leaning back in his chair casually.

"You mean to tell me you sold him an incredibly dangerous genie in a bottle?" Why is Judal like this? This sounds like a mess they'll have to clean up later, and they'll have no one to blame but themselves.

Judal shrugs again and Hakuryuu reconsiders his plan to strangle him with plants. "I mean, it really is sleeping. I dunno how much of the rest is true, I just made some shit up to make it sound cool."

He sighs, somewhat relieved. "Oh, that's good."

"The genie's super fuckin' messed up though, that part is true."

"Judal-"

"Don't give me that, Mr. Cursed Pottery," he says cheekily. "Besides, I dunno if wishing on it would _actually_ wake the genie up again. Don't worry so much."

Hakuryuu grabs a broom, determined to clean instead of think about the consequences of Judal's actions, and he aggressively sweeps the floor. "I'm not worried."

"Aw, you are," Judal gently teases. "Cute."

"It's not."

"He gave you his number. We could check up on him later and see what happened," Judal points out helpfully.

"I suppose." Hakuryuu doesn't intend to contact Alibaba, though. He doesn't want to be reminded of what a useless teenager he was, full of impotent rage and delusions of what he could actually accomplish, or to have to admit the he's done nothing with his life since. He's still living off his family's wealth and his own failures; there's nothing good to talk about. At least Judal doesn't judge him for that.

Judal doesn't press the issue, instead popping into the back room to get another muffin. "These really are fucking amazing," he says, making another mess of the counter.

"I'll take your inability to talk with your mouth shut as a compliment," Hakuryuu says, and Judal nods enthusiastically.

"You should!"

They lapse into a silence that's both comfortable and familiar; they can work together without Hakuryuu feeling like he's made the situation awkward or killed the conversation. It's nice. Somehow, being around Judal isn't complicated, and that's something he didn't expect.

"I'm shit at keeping friends, too," Judal says, breaking the calm. "You saw me and Sinbad."

"I did," he says, unsure.

"So don't worry, I guess," he continues. "'Cause like, friends are hard and shit."

"I already know I'm bad at maintaining social connections," Hakuryuu interrupts before Judal can keep rambling. He'd rather not discuss his failings right now.

"Yeah, but we're making something work," Judal says softly.

He has to work here, so it's not exactly a big accomplishment that they spend a lot of time together. But they do have _something_ that's more than a professional relationship, and maybe that's what's important. Judal gives him a half-hearted smile when he doesn't answer.

"Or, you know, maybe not, I dunno what I was trying to say," he says in a rush, and Hakuryuu feels bad.

"No, I think we've got- I don't know. Something, I guess. I'm not good at talking about it," he tries to explain, and Judal nods.

"Right. Yeah."

Hakuryuu doesn't know the right answer in this conversation, but it's probably not 'ignore the problem until it's better. But Judal seems unfazed and smiles brightly this time.

"Just keep feeding me and I'll be happy. I'm an easy man," he says, polishing off the last of a muffin.

"Are you?" Hakuryuu asks without thinking, and Judal bursts out laughing. The air is friendly again and he finally feels himself relax.

"You're just as rude as me," Judal points out between peals of laughter. "Maybe if you're lucky you'll find out."

"Wouldn't it take less time if you were easy?" Hakuryuu asks, and this somehow makes Judal laugh even harder.

He finally composes himself enough to leave the counter and sidle up to Hakuryuu. "You got me there," he teases, pulling on one of Hakuryuu's belt loops. "But I make it cute."

He'd told himself not to make a habit of kissing Judal at work, but that doesn't stop him from wrapping an arm around his waist to pull him closer. Judal doesn't complain, leaning into his touch comfortably, and he uses his other hand to pull Hakuryuu into a kiss.

This is so unprofessional and he shouldn't give into it, but he already knows that Judal would just say that it's his store and he can do what he wants. So he doesn't argue, instead focusing on how much he's enjoying this. Judal is clingy as he nips at Hakuryuu's lower lip, twining his fingers into his hair possessively, and it's just so nice to be wanted. It's easy to get lost doing this, pressing Judal against the counter and just enjoying their hands on each other.

Hakuryuu eventually pulls back, breathless, and Judal pecks one last kiss on his lips.

"You get flustered so easily," Judal teases, still happily hogging his personal space. "It's cute."

"You find the strangest things cute," Hakuryuu tells him, but he's smiling. He's not sure how Judal has figured out how to improve his mood so well, but it's nice.

"You like it!" he says, leaning against Hakuryuu instead of the counter. Holding Judal is pleasant, if a little pointy. He's a lot bonier than he looks, despite all the sweets he eats. Maybe Hakuryuu should try to get him to eat better…

Judal squirms out of his grip, interrupting Hakuryuu's thoughts. "Anyway, I've now dealt with enough people and talking today. Wanna get dinner?" he asks. It's his way of escaping any sort of serious conversation, but Hakuryuu doesn't blame him. He will happily take the change in topic.

"Chinese again?"

"Mmhm," Judal says. "It's safe. They know how to make it the way I like."

"The place you order from is pretty good," Hakuryuu agrees.

Judal calls in their regular order and goes back to lounging at the counter, watching Hakuryuu water the plants around the store. "Did I ever tell you I know the owner?"

Hakuryuu glances over. "No, but I'm not surprised. You do order from there all the time."

"No, I mean- I order from there 'cause I'm related to them," he says casually. Hakuryuu stops what he's doing to look at Judal better. That's not an answer he expected.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, like real distantly. They're descendants of my siblings," he explains. "I helped them open the place awhile back, so I guess that's why they still give me free shit sometimes."

Judal isn't meeting his eyes, but that's okay. Hakuryuu finds out about his life and his past in the most disorganized pieces, given at strange times, and he doesn't think he'd have it any other way. That's just how Judal is, and he's become so attached to him that Hakuryuu couldn't imagine asking him to change.

"Well, they run a successful restaurant. They're probably grateful," Hakuryuu says, trying to get back to his task without it seeming like he doesn't care about what Judal told him.

Judal shrugs. "I guess. Anyway, I'm gonna go put shit in the back. Lemme know when the food gets here."

Hakuryuu watches him go fondly. What a strange man.


	16. Chapter 16

I'm really sorry for the delay on this chapter guys! D: I had a very lovely vacation with spotty internet connection, and then came home & immediately got sick. life is suffering D: anyway! this is kind of long to make up for it; I hope you enjoy! next chapter will still be on Wednesday, do not fear~

* * *

Judal hops up on the counter towards the end of the night, narrowly missing the cash Hakuryuu is counting. What a pest. He's smiling sweetly though, and Hakuryuu's attitude softens almost immediately.

"Do you need something?" he asks, shifting the paperwork just to be safe. Judal nods enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I wanted to borrow you for a favor," he explains. "I need to pick up boring work supplies."

"Oh, did you finally look at the list I gave you?" Hakuryuu teases, counting out the last of the cash for the deposit. He should have known that Judal wanted him to drive him somewhere again, but at least it's for something responsible. He's almost proud.

"Mmhm. And I realized that I need toilet people at shit at home, so I can just buy a ton of it and use it everywhere!" Judal says proudly. Hakuryuu shakes his head and moves to drop the deposit in the safe, but Judal grabs his wrist. "Gimme the cash; I'm buying responsible crap."

Hakuryuu hands him the envelope and files the rest of the receipts and daily paperwork while Judal counts the cash and shoves it in his pocket. "Where do you want to go? It's pretty late now, so I figure I could pick you up tomorrow before we open-"

Judal cuts him off, grinning. "Walmart's open late!" he tells him, swinging his legs against the counter. "I'll even give you a bonus if you take me."

Hakuryuu stops to look at him, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? I thought I'd already agreed to it."

He leans forward and kisses Hakuryuu quickly. "Now you _have_ to take me."

"That's so unprofessional," Hakuryuu says, hiding a smile behind a paper. "I was going to take you, but now that you're trying to coerce me…"

"Noooo, you have to," Judal whines, sliding off the counter to drape on Hakuryuu's shoulders peskily. " I wanna go to the store and buy dumb crap with you!"

Hakuryuu ruffles his hair fondly, and Judal practically purrs. "I'll take you to Walmart, don't whine so much. How did you go shopping before you could use me as a chauffeur?"

Judal hugs him tightly from behind before freeing him. "Took the bus a lot, duh. And I had to just buy small amounts at a time. It's so inconvenient!"

"I see. I guess we can go get my car, and then I'll take you," Hakuryuu says. He double checks his pocket for his keys while Judal grabs his own, and they head out into the night after the store is locked up.

Summer is winding down. The days are still sweltering but the nights are finally cool again, and it's a pleasant walk home. Judal alternates holding his hand and running ahead; he's a barely contained ball of energy and Hakuryuu thinks it's very cute. Judal practically flies through the parking lot to Hakuryuu's car, and he's leaned against it, grinning happily, when Hakuryuu catches up with him.

"You are very excited," Hakuryuu says, shaking his head and unlocking the car. Judal shrugs and clambers in.

"I dunno, I just wanna get out from the same five places I always go to, and this sounds fun," he explains, going right for the radio while Hakuryuu up directions on his phone. He's pretty sure he's never been to a Walmart - definitely not this one, since he's unfamiliar with its location - but Judal seems pretty happy about going.

Hakuryuu parks near the front and pulls up the shopping list on his phone before heading in. Judal runs ahead, forgoing a cart in his excitement, so Hakuryuu grabs one. They'll need it if they're going to be stocking up on paper products. Judal is nowhere to be seen at first, but thankfully he stands out. Hakuryuu finds him in the candy aisle, eyeing up the brightly colored bags.

"I don't think we need giant bags of candy."

Judal grabs one and drops it in the cart. "Says you!"

He shakes his head. "It's your money. But we do need toilet paper, paper towels, and some office related supplies," Hakuryuu tells him, scrolling through the list. "I was thinking of looking at desk chairs, if they have any here." Walmart certainly looks big enough to have furniture, but he's not entirely sure.

"Yeah, they do, but why?" Judal asks, a perfect picture of confusion.

"Have you sat in our office chair recently?" he asks, pushing the cart towards the paper products as Judal follows along.

"It's super comfy!" he says, looking offended. "Why don't you like it?"

The chair in question is soft and plush, yes, but he spends more time trying to get comfortable and escape being eaten by it than he does sitting still. "It's hard to sit in," he says simply.

Judal whines softly, before skipping into an aisle to grab some fruit snacks. Hakuryuu waits for his return before continuing on; otherwise he's concerned he'll lose Judal in the Walmart for hour. "I think it's nice…"

"Well, it's very nice. It fits with your aesthetic well, and I'm sure it would be great to lounge in," Hakuryuu amends. "But it's not good for sitting at a desk."

"If you say so," Judal says, unconvinced but mollified. They've finally reached the paper products, and Judal crouches down in front of the toilet paper. "Hmm," he says, rather theatrically, giving the packages a squeeze. "Hmmmmmmmm." Hakuryuu stands patiently by, watching him hem and haw over every brand before finally deciding on something very soft and grabbing the largest package of everything.

"I'm surprised you don't have specific ones you like already," Hakuryuu remarks, steering them to the office supplies section. Who knew Walmart had so much?

Judal laughs. "You'd think that! But there are so many more options here I had to make sure I got the nicest ones! I gotta wipe my ass with the most plush toilet paper possible, you know?"

Hakuryuu snorts before he can stop himself and Judal grins. "Oh, this is how to make you laugh? I wouldn't have expected potty humor to be your thing, but I guess everyone's full of surprises."

"No, I just- I didn't expect that answer," he admits, but Judal's still smiling at him.

"It's cute," Judal assures him, skipping ahead and leaving Hakuryuu to pick up the "boring" work supplies.

They need pens, printer paper, paper clips, deposit slips, and a weekly calendar. Hakuryuu wants to track their sales now that he's made a dent in fixing all the old receipts. Oh, and they need another expanding folder, since Judal decided he doesn't like the current one. Maybe they could use a better stapler too?

Judal finds him comparing staplers, carefully lifting them and considering their weights. He doesn't want something cheap and plastic, but if it's too heavy it'll be a hindrance.

"Gonna redo the whole office?" Judal asks, poking through what's already in the cart.

"Just a few things. Most of that is replacements for what we ran out of, but if the office is better organized, it will be easier to maintain," Hakuryuu says, putting down the staplers. He supposes the one they already have is acceptable.

He chuckles. "You're really precious, you know? I appreciate the work you've been doing, since organization is basically fucking magic to me."

"And yet you're always complaining about it."'

"What? I'm not complaining, "Judal says, frowning. "I'm teasing you 'cause I think it's cute _and_ helpful."

Hakuryuu narrows his eyes. "But you keep telling me I'm making your life harder with all the changes I've made."

"I mean, yeah, it's difficult for me, but that's just because I suck royally at keeping things clean and putting shit away. I'm just joking around," he says, brows furrowed. Now he's upset Judal because he misread the situation; this always happens when he's missed the joke.

"I'm really bad at jokes," he tries to explain, and Judal's face softens.

"You've mentioned that before and I forgot, huh? Sorry," he says sheepishly. "I really do like that you're helping with so much. You coulda just done the bare minimum of showing up to fulfill the contract, but you didn't."

Under the buzzing fluorescent lights of the Walmart seems like an odd place for a heart to heart talk, but it's Judal. It's just something that happens with him. "Sorry for misunderstanding," Hakuryuu says.

"No- no, look, I think I was the asshole here. You thought I was upset with you!" Judal flails. "I'm a dick!"

"A little, yeah."

He laughs. "Then let me apologize. And get a stapler. I think mine is older than you are."

Hakuryuu feels himself smile despite the still lingering stress and he picks up the one he liked most. "Thank you," he says, unsure of how else to respond, and Judal seems happy.

"Good! Let's get a chair, too, fancy office man," Judal says, slinging an arm around his shoulders to kiss Hakuryuu's cheek affectionately.

"I was just going to price them," he tries to say, but Judal is already leading him to the furniture section. It's not bad, for a massive, cheap store, and normally he'd shop around a few places before buying something like this. But Judal is so enthusiastic that it somehow affects his better judgment. They pick a nice desk chair after looking at all of them, and Judal buys everything without a complaint.

"I thought you were going to get groceries," Hakuryuu points out while finagling the chair into the trunk of his car. Judal leans against the car, watching instead of helping, and shrugs.

"I got snacks," he says. "Look, I have realistic expectations of my abilities to feed myself, and I know I subsist on mostly take out."

Hakuryuu shoves the box the rest of the way in and fits their bags around it. Judal is some sort of walking miracle; he survives on the weirdest things. "I see."

"Don't judge my life," he demands, hopping into the car. "Or I'll find the most annoying music to listen to on the way back."

"Isn't that what you always do?"

Judal opens his mouth to argue but catches Hakuryuu's smirk. "Oh, but _you_ can tease me? Rude."

Hakuryuu turns on the car and pulls out of the parking lot, trying to keep his laughter to himself. Judal sticks his tongue out but doesn't seem offended, instead rolling his window down and reveling in the fresh night breeze.

"You can just leave it in your car and bring it all in tomorrow," Judal says as they get closer. "Except my snacks. I want those."

"Do you want me to at least drop you at home?" Hakuryuu asks.

"Nah, I'll get myself back from your place," he replies, grinning. "But thanks!"

Judal insists on following him upstairs and into his apartment, plastic bag of food dangling from his wrist the whole time. He always seems so enthralled by Hakuryuu's living arrangements.

"You know, besides your pottery, you've got like nothing here that makes me think of you," Judal says, running a hand over a bookshelf. He's staring at the books like he's trying to understand the secrets of the universe, or at least Hakuryuu's life. Like many things Judal does, it's a bit unsettling.

"What do you mean?"

"Even the pottery could be, I dunno, fancy decorations. It looks like a catalog home or something in here," he elaborates, tapping the spine of the book in front of him. "I know you're not gonna sit around and read about the analysis of business practices in the 1980s in your free time, so why do you have it? It looks like filler."

"I did major in business, you know," Hakuryuu tells him. "That's a textbook."

Judal whirls around to stare at him in shock. "Business?"

"It's very practical," he tries to explain, but Judal waves a hand to cut him off.

"You're serious."

"I- well, yes, of course I am. And you should be grateful; I've been helping you with _your_ business," Hakuryuu points out. "Are you going to insult my carpeting too?"

Judal glances down. "Yeah, it's boring."

"You're so rude."

"I know! But my opinion still stands," Judal insists, getting back to inspecting the decor.

Hakuryuu frowns. "I have my plants. I like them, and they provide some life."

Judal shrugs. "Fair."

"Not all of us are as flashy as you when it comes to decorating, Judal."

"I still feel like I'm in some sort of model house," Judal says, flopping on the couch. Hakuryuu takes a seat next to him, and Judal immediately invades his personal space, leaning up against him affectionately. Maybe he should admit that the apartment came furnished? It never bothered him before, but now that Judal has brought it up, he realizes that he thinks of his apartment as a perfectly functional place to live, not a home. Not that that's any different from his family estate, though. He'd never given it much thought.

"Sorry," Hakuryuu settles on, and Judal chuckles.

"You're just hard to understand sometimes. You don't have to apologize for that," he says.

"Like you're one to talk," Hakuryuu says and Judal bursts out laughing.

"You've got me there," he admits once he's managed to stop laughing. At least when he laughs, it makes Hakuryuu feel like he's actually having a good time instead of making fun of him. "But you know what I'm about from seeing my place, right?"

Hakuryuu considers this. Judal's home is usually a bit of a mess, but it does feel cozy and comforting; it feels like _Judal_. "You don't have much personal stuff either, but it does feel more like a 'home,'" he admits.

"See!" Judal looks proud of himself.

"Also, this is a pre-furnished apartment," Hakuryuu says casually, hoping that somehow Judal won't make a big deal out of it, but he starts laughing all over again.

Judal wipes a tear from his eye. "Oh, you're not kidding? That's actually kind of cute."

"It seemed most practical," Hakuryuu says and Judal leans up to kiss his cheek. "It's not like I have furniture I'm attached to. Anything that would have reminded me of better times was destroyed in fire."

The mood turns somber almost immediately. Perfect, just what he wanted: to make Judal miserable. He knows Judal is probably just trying to help, in his own weird way, but here he is ruining everything. He really hates how bad he is at conversation. But somehow, Judal doesn't seem that bothered, and that's reassuring.

"You can live however you want," Judal says, breaking the heavy silence. "If you wanna have a picture perfect model home I'm not gonna stop you. I just don't get it, and I like to stick my nose in everything. 'Cause I'm rude."

Hakuryuu settles back against him, allowing himself to be comforted by Judal's warm presence. "I think you mean well."

Judal chuckles, snuggling into him. "I don't hear that a lot, you know."

"Mm, I guess I can see why. You like to curse people and then insult their homes," he teases.

"Hey! Hey, _I_ didn't curse you. It's not my fault you can't follow directions," Judal whines, but he's obviously not upset enough to leave. "And I just think you should, I dunno, try to express yourself better. Do something 'cause _you_ wanna."

He's never gotten this advice before; his whole life has been built around blending in and not causing problems so that his family will ignore him as much as possible. "I- I've never really thought about it," he says.

"I know," Judal says, grinning. "You like helping me organize, but you're not exactly passionate about it or anything. What was your job before?"

"I worked in an office-"

"Some boring desk job shit then. Do you miss it?"

"No," Hakuryuu answers without hesitation, and Judal grins.

"That's what I thought," he says smugly. "Why'd you study something you didn't care about that much? I know you're a fancy rich boy, but college is still majorly expensive, right?"

Hakuryuu sighs, trying to collect his thoughts into something he can explain to Judal without dragging him down with his entire life story. "It didn't upset anyone, and it would be useful if I wanted to work for one of the companies my family owns. I don't _want_ to, but that way no one questioned me." Now that he's said it aloud, it sounds silly and lame, especially compared to Judal, who seems to live his life in the moment, regardless of consequences. It's hard to put it into words, but it felt so necessary at the time, and he doesn't know how to live without worry and guilt.

Judal nods. "I gotcha. Guess with all you went through as a kid, makes sense you'd just wanna blend in and not attract any bad attention." He gently cuffs Hakuryuu in the shoulder with a smile. "Still think you should think about yourself sometimes."

Hakuryuu rubs his arm where Judal punched him and tries not to be too surprised at how patiently Judal is taking all of this. "I'll try."

"Good!" Judal hops up and dusts himself off. "I should go home, though."

"It is getting late," Hakuryuu agrees. "I'll walk you out."

"Nah, I'm good," he says, grinning brightly. Judal pulls out his wand and draws his teleportation sigil in the air. "See you tomorrow!" he calls out before hopping through, leaving Hakuryuu in his quiet apartment with his thoughts.


	17. Chapter 17

sorry for the kind of short chapter, but I promise it's still cute :D NaNoWriMo starts today, but don't worry; I'll be including chapters for this in my word count for it so updates won't stop XD I'll just also be writing a lot of other stuff, and hopefully getting the beginning going for another chaptered fic. eventually. I promise you'll be seeing a lot more juhaku from me in the future~

* * *

Hakuryuu carries the desk chair and the rest of the office supplies in before he opens the next morning. Last night's conversation is still fresh in his mind, but he really does want to construct the chair today; he wants a more comfortable seat while he works. Regardless of what Judal said, he is still required to work here, and he'll make it as nice as possible. Everything else they talked about is still a bit much to think on.

Judal wanders in fashionably late, carrying his bag of fruit snacks. "I'm gonna store these here or I'll just lose them. Did you know that gummies can expire?"

"Of course they do," Hakuryuu says, trying his best not to sound condescending.

"Yeah, I'm a dumbass," Judal agrees, laughing at himself as he heads into the back. He pops back out with a single serving bag of the fruit snacks; apparently he's pretending it's a healthy meal. "Anyway, aren't you gonna use your new chair?"

"I was waiting for you to get here," he explains. "I have to put it together, and I didn't want to leave the store unattended for however long it takes me."

"You're so responsible," Judal tells him, ripping open the packet of fruit snacks. "I guess I can let you go construct it."

"Thank you," Hakuryuu says, leaving Judal to sit at the counter as he goes into the back. He's never put furniture together before, so he'll need to read the instructions and plan every step out just to be safe. It doesn't look impossibly hard as long as he puts the pieces together in order, which really goes without saying. He's glad he found a toolbox a few weeks ago, though. He carefully lays out all the pieces and gets to work.

Unsurprisingly, Judal comes in to pester him after a bit. He perches on the desk to watch Hakuryuu, slurping loudly at some sort of horribly sweet fruit drink. Hakuryuu won't turn down the company, even if he's making annoying noises.

"Where did you get those tools?" Judal asks eventually.

"Hm?"

"I don't buy...handyman stuff like that."

He looks up from his project to see that Judal looks honestly confused. "I found a toolbox stuffed in the back of the closet awhile ago. I've used it to fix a few things since."

"Shit, I must have gotten that _years_ ago," Judal decides, shaking his head. "I'm glad you're so resourceful. And good at finding crap."

"No, I just know how to look for things. And follow instructions," Hakuryuu explains, gesturing with the screwdriver he's holding. Judal chuckles but doesn't comment further, seemingly content with watching Hakuryuu work. He's realized by now that Judal has some sort of sense for when people enter the store, so it's not like he'll miss anything.

He twists another piece together, proud of his success so far. Something has been on his mind since their shopping trip last night though, so he pauses to ask Judal about it. "I have a question about your shopping habits."

Judal cocks his head to the side. "Yeah? Hit me with it, I'm all ears."

"I'm surprised you don't just teleport your choices home without paying for them. No offense, but your respect for rules is fairly loose," Hakuryuu says, glancing up to gauge Judal's expression.

He bursts into laughter. "I'm not laughing at you," he assures Hakuryuu. "You just- you're so judgmental but you dress it up with politeness until it almost sounds reasonable."

"That's not-"

"No, you're fucking rude," Judal says, grinning. "But it's okay. Me and my loose morals still like you."

Leave it to Judal to make a perfectly innocent question sound inappropriate. Hakuryuu's cheeks feel hot, so he busies himself with the chair to avoid talking. So much for making conversation.

"Do you really think the greedy assholes in charge of places like Walmart and shit don't have their own magical staff to prevent that sort of thing? Everyone's looking out for themselves and magic is everywhere; it's not so unknown that you can get away with murder with it," Judal says, leaning so far off the desk that he _should_ have fallen by now, all so that he can eye Hakuryuu up properly. "I mean, you _can_. It just ain't easy."

"Oh."

"You're right, though. I used to be a thieving brat, here and there, until the only places without protections in place were other little businesses like mine, and I'm not _that_ much of an asshole," Judal finishes, shifting out of Hakuryuu's personal space some but still watching him intently.

"I see," he says. It makes sense, now that Judal's put it like that. He feels uneducated about the world, _again_ , but that's okay. It's been getting better, and he knows he can keep learning.

"Don't look so worried," Judal says, bopping him on the head fondly.

Hakuryuu frowns at him. "I'm not worried."

"Guess it's just your face then," Judal teases, finally jumping off the desk properly. "I'm gonna leave you to this."

"Alright," he agrees, smiling when Judal ruffles his hair on the way out. He'll have to put it back up in a bun, but it was worth it.

When he's done, Hakuryuu sits in his new desk chair triumphantly. It's comfortable, but he can still easily sit at the desk: perfect. It's a good improvement. He'll clean up, do the rest of today's paperwork, and then show Judal his accomplishment.

He finds Judal at the tail end of a transaction, selling an absolutely hideous vase to someone who looks ecstatic about their purchase. There's no accounting for taste, he supposes. Judal barely acknowledges his entrance, but Hakuryuu can see his smile soften from plasticky polite shopkeeper into something more honest. That's sweet.

Judal shoots him a cheeky grin when the customer leaves. "Taking a break?"

Hakuryuu shakes his head. "I'm done. I just wanted to let you know."

His expression brightens. "Ooooh, aren't you fancy! I wanna see!" Judal pushes his way back to the office and practically flings himself into the chair. Hakuryuu cringes, but apparently it's sturdy enough to survive Judal's enthusiasm. That's a good sign. He spins in it experimentally, rolling across the floor happily, before spinning it around to face Hakuryuu again.

"I like it," Judal says. "I mean, I like the comfy one more, but it's very you. It fits."

"Now you can sit in the other chair when you come to keep me company, instead of on the desk," Hakuryuu tells him, but he has the feeling Judal won't take his suggestion.

Predictably, Judal cackles. "Now where's the fun in that?"

"Well-"

"Trick question! I like sitting on the desk. Puts me right at kissing level," Judal interrupts, smiling brightly. Hakuryuu's arguments die in his mouth; he wasn't expecting that answer. Judal pushes himself forward - still in the new chair, of course - until he's right in front of Hakuryuu.

"I still think that it's very unprofessional," Hakuryuu insists.

Judal grins widely. "Sitting on the desk?"

"No, kissing at work- I mean, sitting on the desk is unprofessional too, but I don't think I can stop you," he answers, trying to keep himself composed. Judal gets under his skin in a way that _should_ annoy him, but somehow, it's endearing instead. He's not sure he'll ever understand it.

"It's my store," Judal whines, trying to pull Hakuryuu into his lap. "I can do what I want!"

Hakuryuu stands firmly. "There has to be a weight limit on that chair. I don't want to break it immediately."

He blows a raspberry. "I think you just hate my joy."

"I do not!"

Judal's pout turns into a knowing smile, and there's a dusting of pink on his cheeks. "I see you _do_ care," he says proudly. "But this is a serious design flaw in the chair."

Hakuryuu offers him a hand up and Judal takes it, letting Hakuryuu pull him so close it makes his breath hitch. "The chair is there for me to work, you know. You told me to figure out what I like to do, and one of those things is to get work done in a reasonable amount of time."

"Tease," Judal says softly, angling himself closer.

"No part of that is teasing," he points out, shifting his hand to rest on Judal's lower back. He purrs happily, like he always seems to when Hakuryuu's touches him, and presses a kiss to Hakuryuu's cheek.

"If you say so," Judal says, before frowning. "I hate customers."

Hakuryuu releases him, much to his disappointment. "Then why do you own a business?"

"'Cause apparently being beautiful and powerful doesn't pay the bills," he whines, straightening his clothes and hair before heading out front.

Hakuryuu watches him go, forcing himself not to dwell on the longing he feels. He has other things to do besides get hung up on Judal, as tempting as it sounds. He's not sure he likes this side effect to their improved relationship.

He busies himself cleaning up the desk, and finds Alibaba's phone number tucked in between some scrap paper. Maybe he _should_ text him and get his mind off Judal for a little. He's never been good at maintaining friendships, but Alibaba seems to think they're still friends despite falling out of communication for years. Hopefully they'll get along better now.


	18. Chapter 18

hey everyone! there are some text conversations in this chapter that look much better in the ao3 version, so I'd recommend heading over there to read it if you want the full effect. it's linked in my profile (though my username there is also SetsuntaMew)

anyway, beyond that...I hope you enjoy! I've been kicking a lot of butt at nanowrimo this year and I would love some comments on this to inspire me even more~

* * *

Hakuryuu spends the next 15 minutes composing a text to Alibaba. He wants to convey the necessary information without sounding too serious - which Judal likes to remind him he is via text - and also to apologize for taking so long to get back to him. Those sound like the proper things to include.

 _Hello, Alibaba. This is Hakuryuu. Apologies for the late message; work has been busy. I hope you're still doing well._

That looks good. Short and simple; he's less likely to mess up when it's so few words.

His phone buzzes not long after he hits send, but that's not very surprising. He supposes Alibaba was always better at quick conversation.

 **Hakuryuu:** Hello, Alibaba. This is Hakuryuu. Apologies for the late message; work has been busy. I hope you're still doing well.  
 **Alibaba:** Yeah! I was worried you lost my # lol  
 **Hakuryuu:** I'm sorry.  
 **Alibaba:** nbd, you've got a job to worry about. What r u up to tonight?

Hakuryuu glances at the time, confirming that it's still mid-afternoon. Depending on Judal's mood, they could be done by dinner time or open extra late, especially if he wants to try to make up for last night's purchases at the Walmart. He really needs to talk to Judal about keeping regular store hours; the store has some dissatisfied reviews on yelp because of the inconsistent ones they keep now.

 **Hakuryuu:** I'm working.  
 **Alibaba:** Boo, how late?  
 **Hakuryuu:** I'm not sure yet. It depends on how busy we are.  
 **Alibaba:** If you can dip early we should do dinner!  
 **Alibaba:** Aladdin says hi

He's never asked to leave early before, and he's not sure he wants to try just to see Alibaba and potentially Aladdin. He knows the goal here is to reach out more, but he's still not sure.

 **Hakuryuu:** Give Aladdin my greetings, too. Did he like the lamp you bought?  
 **Alibaba:** He called it tacky :( but also that it looks good in the apartment, so that's a win  
 **Hakuryuu:** That's good.  
 **Alibaba:** Yeah! Lemme know if u can hang

Hakuryuu sets his phone down to consider his options. He still thinks he'd rather stay here until closing and then have a quiet night in, but then he's just keeping his usual routine. He should ask Judal for his opinion.

He slips his phone into his pocket and leaves the office, hoping he'll be able to reply soon. Alibaba knows that he's at work, but it's still rude to keep someone waiting. When Hakuryuu steps out of the office, however, he remembers why he had started texting Alibaba in the first place- the door chime had called an unwilling Judal away to go help customers. They're still there: a man and woman are slowly touching everything in the front room. Judal has a bland smiled plastered on his face for their sake, but one of his eyebrows is twitching. Hakuryuu can tell he's unhappy.

Maybe he should go wait in the office and sort out his own problems.

Judal catches his eye and makes a show of rolling his eyes at the current customers. Hakuryuu would chide him for being unprofessional, but they're too engrossed in the tacky wooden trinkets that they're looking over to notice. That _almost_ makes it acceptable behavior.

Judal pads across the room and leans against the counter. "Do you need something?" he asks quietly, trying not to draw attention to their conversation.

"I had a personal question, but it's not important," Hakuryuu replies, one hand on the phone in his pocket. He shouldn't leave Judal to deal with problem customers; he'll probably keep making faces at them. At least this has helped him make up his mind anyway.

"Oohhh, I love your personal questions," Judal says, grinning. "Don't keep it from me."

"It's really not anything important," he insists, and Judal pouts. He's fairly sure Judal thinks it's some kind of personal question related to the two of them, not just about his inability to handle a social life. "I'm just going to go back-"

Judal grabs his hand and squeezes it. "Don't leave me with these morons," he hisses under his breath, subtly jerking his head towards them.

"Judal-"

He holds up a hand to stop Hakuryuu and turns around. Judal is all smiles again, just in time for the woman to wave him over with a question. It's almost art, how he can change gears so quickly and smoothly, and Hakuryuu finds himself drawn to watching it. He sits behind the counter while Judal helps them pick a few things out, taking the discarded options away from them before they can end up scattered around the store.

Hakuryuu eventually gets up and starts putting things away while Judal keeps trying to help them. But every time they seem to be done, one of them decides to linger a little longer over some baubles or they find new ways to inspect a bookshelf. It's truly impressive, though incredibly tiring.

The weight of his phone feels heavy in his pocket as he cleans up the mess the customers have left behind, and Hakuryuu resists his rising urge to panic. This is why he doesn't have friends; it's so much stress to maintain the proper level of communication and it always leaves him feeling like a failure. He hates this growing, sinking feeling in his guts.

Judal manages to corral them to the register while Hakuryuu picks up the final remains of their shopping experience, though he watches Judal out of the corner of his eye. He rings them up briskly and gives them the iciest 'have a nice day' Hakuryuu has ever heard from him. Judal collapses into the chair behind the counter with a sigh after they are finally gone.

Hakuryuu joins him at the counter when he's done cleaning and Judal gives him a long-suffering look. "They wouldn't leave," he whines, before dropping his head on the counter with a thunk.

"Were they here that entire time?" Hakuryuu asks, concerned.

"Yes," Judal groans. "And they only spent twenty bucks. How do you wander around a store for almost an hour and then buy basically fucking nothing?"

Hakuryuu pats his head comfortingly. "I'm surprised you didn't charge them more."

"I _did_. They barely got anything." He pauses, considering. "And I bet if I'd tried to charge more it woulda been another discussion over the price, so I gave up."

"I'm sorry," Hakuryuu tells him, still stroking his hair. Judal eventually melts from the attention, his shoulders loosening until he looks relaxed again; he's obviously in a much better mood now.

"You're a hero," Judal says into the counter, his words muffled by the wood and his more relaxed position.

Hakuryuu smiles down at him. "You seemed stressed."

"I _was_! Thank you," he says, gently batting Hakuryuu's hand away so he can sit up again. "But seriously, fuck those guys. I hate people like that. I shoulda known they were going to be assholes, since they interrupted my joy…"

This makes Hakuryuu laugh. "I've realized that you don't like a lot of people."

"Yeah, yeah, we've already gone over this. I hate everyone, but I'm a great actor," Judal says, grinning. "And don't think I forgot about your _personal question_ ," he coos, grin widening.

Hakuryuu sighs, feeling silly and stupid and like he might disappoint Judal all at once. "Like I said, it's not that serious."

"I don't care. I wanna know! The more you avoid it, the more I want it," he whines, pawing at Hakuryuu like a spoilt cat at dinner time.

"It's just about a social obligation I may or may not want to attend," Hakuryuu explains, hoping that's clear enough. "Alibaba invited me over for dinner."

"Your setup made it sound like you had some sort of fancy event or shit like that," Judal tells him, chuckling. "But instead maybe I should worry that Alibaba's trying to make a move on your fine ass."

Hakuryuu rolls his eyes. "We're friends from high school, and he wants to catch up. Why are you always like this?"

"I just gotta watch my territory," Judal tells him, reaching for Hakuryuu. "Now come over here so I can slap your ass."

He moves further out of Judal's reach in retaliation, trying to keep the overly proud look off his face. Judal whines and flops forward again, but he doesn't actually seem hurt, just annoyed. "I'm asking for your opinion seriously, and you've just made it about being handsy."

"Nooooo," he whines, but eventually he withers under Hakuryuu's gaze. "Well, maybe a little. What are you worried about? If you wanna go, go. If not, don't. We can order a pizza and watch a movie if you wanna stay in."

Judal's offer sounds so much more tempting than a potentially awkward dinner with Alibaba and Aladdin, but he has to at least explain his worries. "I'm not sure if I want to go."

"You probs don't then," Judal interrupts.

"I wasn't done."

"Sorry."

"Like I was saying, I'm just not sure if I'm debating it so much because I really don't want to go or because I don't like to change my routine," Hakuryuu elaborates.

Judal looks thoughtful for a moment, tapping his fingers against the counter while he considers his answer. "I dunno. Why'd you text him? I didn't think you were gonna."

"I thought it would be a good idea to reach out. But now I'm not sure," he says. Hakuryuu can't stop thinking of the image of him and Judal, curled up in his far too messy but somehow still cozy apartment, watching whatever strange movie Judal has picked. It just sounds nice and comfortable in ways no other friendship ever has.

"Then tell him you've gotta work. You can blame me, since everyone hates their boss or whatever," Judal says.

"But it's not your fault."

"Yeah, but it's a convenient excuse."

"Well, I wasn't going to lie," Hakuryuu says, frowning.

Judal raises an eyebrow. "What, were you gonna tell him you weren't coming to dinner because it sounded terrible and upset you?"

"Maybe not in those exact words," Hakuryuu tries to say, only to be interrupted by Judal chuckling.

"Oh, you're precious. Don't ever say that to someone, unless you're _trying_ to be a giant tool," he explains. Hakuryuu stares back at him, thinking this over, and Judal's laughter turns a shade incredulous. "Seriously, you'd really tell someone that?"

"I like to be honest."

"I see someone never learned the art of subtle white lies," Judal says, but he doesn't seem like he's trying to make him feel like an idiot. Hakuryuu isn't sure how Judal manages to not make him feel horrible when he makes a social faux pas, but it's impressive and helpful. "But don't worry. Lemme ghost write your texts, and I'll free you from hanging out with Alibooba."

Hakuryuu laughs. "That's a rather fitting nickname."

"Just 'cause I only met him the once doesn't mean I can't tell what a boob he is," Judal says, gesturing with one of his many bedazzled pens. "He just had the face. And the attitude. And the oblivious enthusiasm."

"And you call _me_ judgmental," Hakuryuu says, shaking his head. He can't disagree with it, though; Judal has summed up Alibaba almost perfectly.

"It takes one to know one, or whatever. We're both dicks. It's part of why I get along with you so well," Judal tells him. "Now gimme your phone so I can help you."

Hakuryuu hesitates before handing his phone to Judal. "Just be polite. I want to read over what you're going to send first."

Judal sighs dramatically. "It's like you don't trust me at all."

"You literally _just_ said that you're a judgmental asshole," he points out. "Of course I want to make sure you're not making it worse. Also, your spelling is terrible."

"Tell me how you really feel, Hakuryuu. Just don't hold back or anything," Judal says sarcastically, before scrolling through the text conversation. "Aw, you almost sound like a little robot trying to imitate the humans. You're so serious!"

"I was trying to be casual," Hakuryuu tells him, frowning.

"I bet you were," Judal agrees. They lapse into silence punctuated by the quiet sounds of his cell phone keyboard as Judal composes a reply, face twisted into one of serious concentration. Hakuryuu is touched that he's actually giving it some thought.

Judal thrusts the phone back at Hakuryuu. "What do you think?"

 _Sorry, found out I can't go. Work's keeping me too late let's try again later?_

He frowns again. Judal tried but it's just so obviously not what _he_ texts like that Hakuryuu will need to fix it. "Thank you. I just need to change it a little."

"That's fine. I got you started," Judal says, unconcerned.

 **Hakuryuu:** Sorry, but I found out that I can't go because work is keeping me too late. Let's try again another time.  
 **Alibaba:** Cool cause now I can do something else!  
 **Alibaba:** This hot girl gave me her # so I've got a date  
 **Hakuryuu:** That sounds nice. I hope you have a good time.

Hakuryuu stares at his phone. He's pretty sure this _also_ counts as being rude; maybe Judal is judging his social skills too harshly. Or maybe Alibaba doesn't realize he's rude. Either is pretty possible. But at least the conversation is now over with minimal stress. He sets his phone on the counter and Judal immediately snatches it up to look at his conversation. Apparently personal boundaries mean nothing to Judal, but he guesses that's nothing new.

"Oh man, you got turned down right back for a date? That's priceless," Judal chuckles, setting the phone down. It vibrates and Hakuryuu takes it before Judal can get into it.

 **Alibaba:** Yeah, all these girls have been checking me out lately  
 **Alibaba:** I think they're finally gonna like me!  
 **Hakuryuu:** You sound really desperate.  
 **Alibaba:** No this time they're all talking to me! It's not desperate!  
 **Hakuryuu:** If you say so.

Judal comes around to stare over his shoulder, breathing lightly against his neck as he does. It's distracting, and not because it's annoying. Hakuryuu angles the phone so Judal can see it better, since he knows by now that he can't prevent him from prying.

"What a loser," Judal says, laughing. "You were right to call him desperate."

"Here I thought I wasn't supposed to say what I think."

"I mean, it's still rude. But he sounds like one of those guys that whines about girls never liking him," Judal points out. "And that's just so laaaame and booooring."

"You're not wrong. He spent all of high school desperate to get a girlfriend, but I thought he might have grown out of it since. I guess I was wrong," Hakuryuu says, putting his phone away. That's enough dealing with Alibaba for now. He can enjoy his evening without guilt, too, since he apparently had something better come along anyway. Just like always.

Judal kisses his cheek quickly before bouncing away. "I'm so good at people," he declares proudly.

"I wouldn't go that far."

"Asshole."

"See, you're proving my point," Hakuryuu says, and Judal snickers. He can usually tell when Judal is teasing, and ever since their discussion in Walmart he's been trying to pay better attention. It doesn't come naturally to him, but he wants to make it work. He hopes it'll get easier with time. Things with Judal just seem to fall into place, so he's pretty confident.

Judal gives him an easy smile. "Yeah, whatever. I'm good at _reading_ people. I don't have to actually be nice to them to do that."

"I've noticed."

He sticks his tongue out. "Don't you have paperwork or something to do instead of making fun of me? You're so cruel, Hakuryuu," Judal says congenially, resting an elbow on the counter to rest his head and watch him better.

Hakuryuu smiles back. "I suppose I can get some work done. Try not to kill your customers while I'm gone."

"No promises!"

x･x･x

Judal drags him up the stairs after they close, so quickly that Hakuryuu is can barely feel them underneath him, and he's pretty sure they're flying. With Judal, that's entirely possible. Hakuryuu does a quick clean up of the living room floor - just so they won't trip trying to get to the couch - while Judal gets into more comfortable clothes. He comes back in soft looking harem pants and a faded t-shirt from his relatives' restaurant, which is far too endearing to Hakuryuu than it has any right to be.

"Pizza still good with you?" Judal asks once he's settled on the couch. Hakuryuu glances over and nods.

"Yes, since you seem so set on it," he says, throwing away the small pile of Chinese takeout containers that he found in shoved into a corner. Maybe if he just puts trash cans in strategic places in Judal's apartment, some of his garbage will _actually_ make it into them.

Judal sticks his tongue out. "Who doesn't love pizza?"

"People who are lactose intolerant."

"That's not what I- You're so literal sometimes," he says, laughing. "And I bet some of them love it and just suffer through the pain. I'd do it if I was."

Hakuryuu hides his smile, tying off the garbage bag and taking it to the kitchen. He'll take it downstairs when he leaves, since he parked next to the trash. For now, he gets them water and joins Judal on the couch.

"Oooh, hydration. Thanks," Judal says gratefully, reaching for his cup. He hands it back to Hakuryuu after taking a drink and returns to poking his phone. "I'm just getting my usual toppings."

"Can you please just get the pineapple on half?" Hakuryuu asks, cringing. He's usually open to most food, but this is one he's not a fan of.

Judal whines. "But I like it."

"Then let me get some vegetables on it," Hakuryuu says, not so much trying to compromise as he is trying to save himself from picking pineapple off his slices of pizza.

"Ew! Why are you so mean to me?"

"I'm not mean. I just don't like pineapple on pizza. I don't try to criticize your food choices," he points out.

"Yes you do! You told me I should eat a vegetable," Judal shoots back triumphantly.

"But I didn't force anything on you."

Judal wilts somewhat. "I guess. Whatever. You win this time, Hakuryuu, but you owe me one!"

"I feel like I owe you enough already," he says, causing Judal to laugh. He places the order without any other disagreements and turns to Hakuryuu expectantly. "Yes?"

"I dunno, I somehow expected you to have the movie set up while I was ordering," Judal admits, trailing off. "What do you wanna watch?"

"See, that's why I didn't start anything. We have to pick something out together," Hakuryuu says, leaning in to watch Judal scroll through movie options on his phone. Picking one comes easier this time; they can agree on action flicks easily. Judal seems partial to superhero movies, so they find the newest one Netflix has to offer.

Hakuryuu watches Judal fight with his TV to get it set up. This is why he doesn't buy into the idea of having a TV that can connect to the internet among other things; it's far too complicated and runs too much of a risk. He doesn't need anyone spying on him in his home. Judal swears at it once more and it finally connects properly, and he flops back on the couch with the remote.

"I want my pizza," Judal complains as the movie starts, curling up against Hakuryuu as he does. Hakuryuu pulls him closer to comfort him, even if he's being ridiculously demanding.

"It'll get here eventually," Hakuryuu reminds him. "Be quiet. I'd like to watch the movie, you know."

" _Fine_ ," Judal concedes, resting his head on Hakuryuu's shoulder. He does actually stay mostly quiet while they watch the movie, only occasionally leaning up to whisper commentary in Hakuryuu's ear. He's seen it before and has _opinions_.

They both jump when the doorbell rings, and Judal scrambles to go answer it. It's always a treat to see him be a graceless mess instead of the perfectly put together persona he displays in the shop, and Hakuryuu finds himself smiling fondly as he gets the pizza.

"Ta-da!" Judal says, setting the pizza and a small box of breadsticks on the coffee table in front of them. "I bring you: dinner!"

"But did you bring plates?"

Judal freezes before pouting. "No, 'cause we can just eat like the heathens we are, jeez. I bet you're gonna want napkins next."

"They'd be nice, yes," Hakuryuu says, before getting up to head to the kitchen. "But I can get them myself."

"Thanks!" Judal calls out. Hakuryuu finds him back on the couch and looking up at him expectantly. "Now serve me. It's uh, part of our contract. You gotta bring me my pizza slices."

"Really?"

"Really!"

"You are such a brat sometimes," Hakuryuu says, but he does it anyway. Something about Judal makes him fun to spoil.

Judal grins and takes his pizza and breadsticks with glee. They start the movie back up, and this time Judal runs commentary with the addition of gestures, using a breadstick and then his pizza crusts to make his points.

Hakuryuu eventually takes the crusts from him. "You know, I'm trying to watch this."

He glances back. "Yeah, I know. I just wanted to help!"

"By talking over it?" he teases, setting aside their plates and assorted trash. He'll clean them up after the movie. For now, he wraps an arm around Judal to pull him closer, and Judal cuddles right into him. It's very cute.

"Yes!"

Hakuryuu shakes his head. "Come on, let me have this. I'll discuss it with you you afterwards, I promise."

Judal whines into his ear and then nips at it softly, but stops complaining. Hakuryuu is going to take that as a win. The rest of the movie passes much more quietly, with Judal barely saying anything. He's seemingly content to stay quiet if it means he gets to be snuggled up with Hakuryuu, which is far too sweet.

As the credits roll, Judal tries to pull Hakuryuu closer. "You should stay. I haven't trashed the other room yet," he says.

"I _should_ go home. That futon is uncomfortable," he responds, but he doesn't try to disentangle from Judal yet. He'll get to it eventually; there's still a little bit of movie to go.

"You're no fun," Judal whines, pouting. "Are you sure?"

It's only the thought of the futon that lets him answer, "Yes."

Judal drops the subject with surprising ease, going quiet to enjoy his last few snuggles before the movie ends. When it's over, Judal glances up. "Want me to walk you home?"

Hakuryuu shakes his head. "I don't want to leave the car behind. I'm going to go take your trash out now."

"Awww, come on, it's sat this long. At least snuggle a little more!"

Hakuryuu shakes his head again. If he stays any longer, he really won't want to leave. He grabs the trash bag, determined to stick with his decision.

Judal insists on at least stealing one last quick kiss, and he stands at the top of the stairs, watching until Hakuryuu has left the alley and disappears from sight.


	19. Chapter 19

OKAY HOLY SHIT I APOLOGIZE FOR THE LATE UPDATE! I posted the chapter on ao3 but then somehow completely forgot to post it here? sorry everyone D:

this was almost an 8k word chapter but I ended up splitting it in two because yikes that was a lot of words. and a lot happening. as it is there's still a lot happening! I hope y'all enjoy it~

* * *

Hakuryuu puts his conversation with Alibaba out of his mind for the next few days. It's easier than he expected but then again, it's become so easy to let the comfortable warmth of the shop take his mind off his worries that he really shouldn't be so surprised. It's nice. Right now he's watching Judal putter around the front, poking and prodding at his newest acquisitions.

Judal gestures at a wide loveseat taking up space in the middle of everything. "What do you think of this?"

Hakuryuu looks it over. "It's...nice, I guess? Are you going to keep it there?"

He flops into it. "Probably. It's comfy."

"It's in the way."

Judal looks around from his seat, narrowing his eyes. "Then move the rest of the crap, I dunno. I wanna lounge."

"Of course. I wouldn't want you to have to work too hard," Hakuryuu tells him, rolling his eyes. He starts moving some of the smaller displays first, trying to make it feel less cramped. The store is stuffed with antiques but there's a balance to making it seem filled without being overwhelming. Since Judal seems content to stay in his new seat, it's up to him to figure it out.

"Oh hey, I should put up some more protections on the store," Judal says off-handedly, not looking up from his phone.

"Hm?"

"There was some sort of prison break yesterday," Judal explains. "All sorts of nasty criminals wandering around. I wouldn't want them to steal from my humble little shop."

"I doubt hardened criminals are looking for antiques to decorate their homes," Hakuryuu says, shaking his head. He's probably going to have to move a bookshelf, but he'll make Judal do that with magic. It's too much of pain to do alone. "I'm going to take a few things further back."

Judal nods. "Sure, sure."

Hakuryuu rejoins Judal to find him still engrossed in whatever is on his phone screen. "Keeping your eyes peeled for those criminals?"

"Yeah, apparently it was this super bloody break out! This guy, uh, Cassim? He's the one running this shit, and all these guards and other prisoners died. It's pretty nasty," Judal says, far too intrigued by the bloody murder. What a strange man.

Wait.

"Cassim?"

"Hmm? I think that's the guy's name," he says.

Hakuryuu frowns. He knows that name. Obviously, it's entirely possible that it's a _different_ Cassim, but it's still a strange coincidence. "Alibaba has a childhood friend named Cassim, that's all."

"Sucks for him! Talk about bad luck to share a name with some murderous asshole," Judal says, laughing. "That sounds like something that would happen to a friend of Alibaba, though."

"Well, his friend Cassim is in prison still, as far as I know. He was in a juvenile detention center when we met in high school, and Alibaba was always talking about trying to get him out before he had to be transferred to an adult prison," Hakuryuu explains.

Judal's eyes bug out. "Haha, what?"

"I'm sure it's a coincidence, though."

"No, no, run that by me again. Alibaba has a friend named Cassim that he's wanted to get out of prison for years, yeah?" Hakuryuu nods and Judal frowns deeply. "I mean, he did just buy a genie in a bottle that would grant his desires."

"I thought you said it wouldn't work!" Hakuryuu snaps.

"I said I didn't _think_ it would work! I see he's just as good at following directions as you are," Judal groans. "What a mess."

Hakuryuu has to sit down, but the only seat is either behind the counter or on the loveseat with Judal, so he'll stay standing for now. This is just ridiculous; there are so many things wrong with the situation that he can't deal with them all right now. Is this why Alibaba has been texting him about all the dates he's been on over the past few days? He really hopes Alibaba didn't wish for women to like him more. He's sure that could turn into a mess, too. "Why did you sell him something so dangerous?"

"Because I'm fucking stupid, okay?" Judal runs his hands down his face in frustration. "We're gonna have to ask him about it."

"How exactly do you plan on doing that?" Hakuryuu asks, but he has a bad feeling he knows the answer already.

Judal looks at him like he's mentally challenged. "Gimme your phone."

"No."

"Aw, come on! I'll be nice!"

Hakuryuu shoves a hand in his pocket to grip his phone protectively. "No. I don't want to seem like I'm being weird or something."

Judal whines. "This is bad. Like, people died and shit. There are dangerous criminals loose on the innocent people of the city. I mean, I hate most of them, but what if they destroy something I like?"

"You are really just something else," Hakuryuu says, pulling out his phone. "I will send Alibaba something more subtle than whatever you had in mind."

He considers this for a moment. "Yeah, probably a good idea. I was just gonna ask him if he'd been a dumbass."

"Wow, that is both unhelpful _and_ rude," Hakuryuu says, making Judal scoot over so he can sit next to him.

"I try to reach new heights of being a dick every day," Judal says, snuggling to watch Hakuryuu text Alibaba.

 **Hakuryuu:** How have you been?  
 **Alibaba:** So busy!  
 **Alibaba:** It's almost too tiring, but I'll suffer for the love of all these women who want me  
 **Hakuryuu:** Ah. I take it you're still going on dates?  
 **Alibaba:** Yeah!

"Ugh, _boring_ ," Judal says, trying to grab the phone. "Ask him about the lamp! I have to know if this is my fault."

"I'm getting there," Hakuryuu chides, moving it out of Judal's reach. "You are so impatient."

He leans up and licks Hakuryuu's ear in retaliation, cackling when he shivers. "Yep!"

 **Hakuryuu:** That sounds like fun.  
 **Hakuryuu:** Did you see the news story about Cassim?  
 **Alibaba:** What?  
 **Hakuryuu:** I think it was about him, at least. There was a big prison break lead by someone named Cassim.  
 **Alibaba:** Holy shit  
 **Alibaba:** I have to see this

"See, it might not be Alibaba's Cassim," Hakuryuu says, though he's trying to convince himself more than anything. If it convinces Judal then that's a good side effect.

Judal looks thoughtful. "Maybe."

"I'm trying to be hopeful," he say in frustration, only for his phone to buzz with a new text.

 **Alibaba:** That's the prison he's in  
 **Alibaba:** But someone shoulda told me…  
 **Hakuryuu:** Maybe it was a different Cassim.  
 **Hakuryuu:** Did you see the news story about Cassim?  
 **Alibaba:** I dunno  
 **Alibaba:** I'll let you know  
 **Alibaba:** Thanks for telling me

"That looks bad," Judal says, voicing their shared concerns.

"What do we want to do about it?" Hakuryuu asks. Despite Judal's negative attitude towards people, he knows that he won't leave this mess alone.

"Well, I'm not gonna go round up all the escaped prisoners. That's what cops are for," he replies.

"Alright," Hakuryuu agrees. He has an idea.

 **Hakuryuu:** Do you want to do dinner this week? It could get your mind off of this mess.  
 **Alibaba:** Actually yeah  
 **Alibaba:** That sounds good  
 **Hakuryuu:** Do you mind if I bring Judal? We're rather close.

Judal snickers and Hakuryuu resists smacking him. He's not sure how else to describe whatever it is they have, and he'll need Judal to deal with the lamp.

 **Alibaba:** Really?  
 **Hakuryuu:** Yes.  
 **Alibaba:** Sure I guess  
 **Alibaba:** I don't mind  
 **Hakuryuu:** Thank you  
 **Alibaba:** Aladdin should be around too

"Oh, you're smart," Judal tells him proudly. "You're getting us right to the source!"

Hakuryuu nods. "I thought this would work. And this way you can come along, since I'm not familiar with this horrible magic disaster that you've decided to cause."

"I mean, it's not _entirely_ my fault," Judal tries to say, only to wilt under Hakuryuu's glare. "Okay, maybe it's mostly my fault. But I _did_ warn him."

"I think you just don't consider the consequences of your actions," Hakuryuu points out. "However, you're good at cleaning up those messes, at least."

He grins. "I am! Now find out when we're having our double date or whatever."

"Aladdin is a mutual friend, Judal," Hakuryuu explains, before getting back to his phone. This is too much social interaction for him today, so he really hopes Alibaba doesn't want to do this tonight.

 **Hakuryuu:** Does tomorrow night work for you?  
 **Alibaba:** Uh  
 **Alibaba:** Lemme see  
 **Alibaba:** Yeah Aladdin is free and I need a night off from dates  
 **Hakuryuu:** I never thought I'd see you say that.  
 **Alibaba:** It's hard!

"Weird," Judal scoffs. "But there we go. Now you get to fulfill your social obligation _and_ potentially deal with the genie issue."

"Yes," he agrees. "It's very efficient."

Judal chuckles and kisses his cheek before hopping up from the loveseat. "I guess I can help you move that bookcase now."

"Please."

x･x･x

The next day, Judal leaves Hakuryuu to watch the store in the late afternoon, saying he needs to get ready before vanishing upstairs. He returns in an entirely different outfit, more jewelry, and sparkly makeup. He looks like a peacock on display, but somehow, he does it without seeming ridiculous.

"You changed," he says dumbly, failing his original goal of complimenting Judal's look. Why is he so bad at this?

"Yeah, you know. Since we're going on a dinner date and all," he explains, spinning around to show off more. "So don't touch me yet, my makeup is still setting."

"You're the one with wandering hands," Hakuryuu says, making Judal laugh. He doesn't see Judal's wand, but he has no doubt that it's tucked away somewhere in the silky brocade of his pants. "You look nice."

He smiles brightly. "Thanks!"

"Should I have dressed up?" Hakuryuu asks, now worried that he's not wearing the proper outfit for the occasion. He assumed casual, but now that he's seen Judal, he's doubting himself.

"Nah, you always look so formal anyways," Judal says, finally making his way behind the register. "We're just going to his apartment, right?"

Hakuryuu moves to give Judal the seat and he settles in it happily. "We're meeting there, but we might go somewhere else. Alibaba never gave me a straight answer."

"Well, you're fine either way. I just wanted an excuse to be fancy."

"Of course."

Judal grins up at him. "So...what time?"

"Seven, so we should leave soon to account for traffic," Hakuryuu says. "Unlike you, I don't believe in being 'fashionably late.' So don't get too comfortable."

"So judgmental!" He laughs. "Guess we should close up."

"Don't worry, I've already started. And there's a sign on the door saying that we're closing early today," he explains proudly. "We really should decide on a more set schedule of hours-"

"Ugh, fiiiiiine," Judal concedes, cutting him off. "But not right now."

"Well, of course not. We can sit down and discuss it tomorrow," he says, reaching around Judal to grab the deposit. It's been slow for the last few hours, so closing is quicker than usual.

Hakuryuu planned ahead and brought his car, even if he felt silly to drive such a short distance this morning. Judal loves car trips, though, and Alibaba doesn't exactly live next door; it's necessary for their evening plans.

Judal whistles when they pull up to the address. "These are some swanky ass townhouses," he declares, head hanging out the window to inspect them better. "Are all your friends loaded or something?"

Hakuryuu parks out front, past the signs announcing that parking for residents is in the rear. "Calm down, Judal."

"Never!"

" _Judal_ -"

"I won't ruin your friendship," he assures Hakuryuu. "I still gotta be the mysterious antiques dealer, remember?"

Hakuryuu offers him a hand out of the car and Judal takes it firmly, pink dusting his cheeks lightly. "I forgot, since you dropped that act around me fairly quickly."

He lets Hakuryuu pull him up, but angles himself closer to leave a soft kiss on Hakuryuu's lips. It's barely a touch but it's so sweet; he almost wishes they were back on Judal's couch instead of about to head into Alibaba's house. But they have to. They have responsibilities.

"I figured you'd be around for awhile. I'm not _that_ good of an actor," Judal admits, keeping Hakuryuu's hand clasped in his as they climb the stairs to the porch. He releases it to excitedly ring the doorbell, though.

Alibaba answers almost immediately, smiling widely. "Hey guys! Aladdin's inside, but Morgiana couldn't make it. Apparently someone called off, so she had to go into work," he explains sadly, welcoming them in.

"That's alright," Hakuryuu says. "Thank you for having us."

"Aw, come on. I invited you," Alibaba says, all smiles again.

Now that he's properly inside, Hakuryuu can tell that the house feels strange. He can't quite put his finger on what it is exactly, but something isn't right here. It's like the subdued feeling of the lamp but lurking in every corner, hiding from sight, but Hakuryuu is _looking_ for something; it can't escape him. Alibaba feels odd too: entirely mundane but with a weird cloak of magic around him. Hakuryuu glances at Judal and sees his cheery fake smile; he's probably noticed it too, then.

"You have a very nice home," Judal says graciously, gesturing at high ceilings and polished wood floors. "Though I can see why you wanted some more decorations for it."

It's jarring to hear Judal be so calm and polite, but Alibaba doesn't seem to be the wiser. "Yeah, I'm just no good at it," he says sheepishly, leading them further in. "I dunno if you guys wanna go out or just order something in, but I'm down for either."

"Staying in sounds nice," Hakuryuu tells him, sitting on the couch in the living room. Judal makes himself comfortable next to him, but he manages to refrain from cuddling. Hakuryuu is proud of him for respecting personal boundaries in public for once. Alibaba gives him a thumbs up and leaves the room, presumably to organize ordering some delivery.

Aladdin joins them with a smile on his face. "Hey, Hakuryuu! Long time no see. I guess this is-" It only lasts a moment, but Hakuryuu sees Aladdin trip over his words and steps when he makes eye contact with Judal. "It's nice to meet you." Aladdin manages to replace the startled look on his face with a warm smile, and he sits in one of the plush chairs across from the couch

Hakuryuu does his best not to let his shame show. Now that he's thought about it more, he _did_ spend a lot of time with them in high school, and they may have actually missed his presence. "I'm sorry. It's nice to see you again."

He grins. "Don't worry about it. We were all so busy in college," he says, turning to look at Judal again. "Is this your partner? Alibaba couldn't figure it out."

Judal laughs, and it sounds like tinkling wind chimes instead of the unrestrained cawing that Hakuryuu is used to; he didn't know Judal could sound like that. "Well, it's my store, but I let him deal with the problem customers and keep my paperwork and tax stuff organized. He's really good at that last part."

"I thought you made me your manager a few weeks ago," Hakuryuu reminds him.

"It's still _mine_ ," he says, playfully elbowing Hakuryuu in the side.

Aladdin laughs too, and Hakuryuu really hopes it's just his paranoia making him think that Judal and Aladdin keep shooting each other glances when they think no one will notice.

Alibaba comes back with a handful of takeout menus. "So what do you guys like? We've ordered from these places before, but I could probably find somewhere else if they don't work out."

"Judal is picky," Hakuryuu says before he can make a fuss. "So as long as we find somewhere that can do substitutions, we should be good."

Judal whines softly and grabs the takeout menus from Alibaba for them to look over together. He can tell that Judal is trying to play it cool, but he keeps making faces at things the he finds offensive to his tastes. It's kind of cute. Judal eventually picks up a menu for a Chinese place and waves it at Alibaba. "What do they put in their lo mein?"

"Uh, vegetables? I dunno," Alibaba admits and Judal frowns. "Sorry."

"I'll live," Judal says, but he still sounds undecided.

They do eventually settle on Chinese, with specific instructions from Judal to ask for egg and meat _only_ in his order. Alibaba pops into another room to call it in and Judal pulls his phone out almost immediately. That's fine. They're not technically his friends; he's not required to make small talk.

"So, how is graduate school going?" Hakuryuu asks before awkward silence can cloud the room. Judal is typing away furiously next to him, and his phone buzzes in his pants pocket just as Aladdin answers.

"It's keeping me busy, but I'm really enjoying the challenge. I've been doing some assistant teaching this semester, and it's really not as bad as Ugo made it out to be," Aladdin says, shrugging. "It's also nice to be back home. I've missed it."

Hakuryuu nods. "I see," he says, trying to ignore his phone vibrating and Judal elbowing him subtly. He can't ignore conversation to be on his phone; it's just rude. However, he _can_ run to the bathroom, and that will help him with his small talk struggles, too. "Not to interrupt, but I need to use your restroom."

"Oh, it's just down that hall on the left," Aladdin tells him, pointing the way.

Once he's safely inside the bathroom, Hakuryuu pulls out his phone to see what Judal needed to tell him so desperately.

 **Judal:** Hakuryuu  
 **Judal:** Hakuryuu  
 **Judal:** Your friend is magic  
 **Judal:** Blue hair  
 **Judal:** Aladdin!  
 **Judal:** Sorry I forgot his name already  
 **Judal:** But he's got magic and shit

Hakuryuu takes a deep breath. This isn't nearly as desperate as he thought it would be, especially considering their actual purpose for being here. Judal is so dramatic.

 **Hakuryuu:** Is that all you wanted to tell me?  
 **Judal:** Yessss!  
 **Hakuryuu:** You didn't notice the weird aura in the house?  
 **Judal:** Of course I did  
 **Judal:** It's obvious I assumed you did too  
 **Judal:** Ur not surprised abt Aladdin?  
 **Hakuryuu:** At this point, I just assume magic has been everywhere in my life and no one bothered to tell me.

Aladdin must have figured Judal out too. It's not like he's subtle about his capabilities; his magical aura is just as flamboyant as the rest of him. But unless he's already told Alibaba about magic, Aladdin probably won't bring it up. He's polite, or at least he was in high school. Hopefully he still is.

 **Judal:** lol  
 **Judal:** True  
 **Judal:** Come back I can't do this he keeps looking at me funny  
 **Hakuryuu:** Maybe he can tell that you're magical, too.  
 **Judal:** Oh right  
 **Hakuryuu:** Please don't make a mess.

Hakuryuu turns his screen off and slips his phone back in his pocket before he can be disappointed by whatever Judal's response is. He finds them in awkward silence: Judal is still glued to his phone and Aladdin looks like he's been trying and failing to make conversation.

Fortunately, Alibaba comes back before it can get any worse. "Food's ordered, guys! It should be here in a bit."

"Unfortunately, I've got a paper to write tonight," Aladdin says. "But I'd love to catch up more, so please get me when the food is here."

"No problem," Alibaba tells him, waving as Aladdin heads upstairs. He plops into a chair and pulls out his phone, since apparently Alibaba is rude in social situations. He frowns deeply at it and sighs.

Judal cocks his head towards him. "You alright?"

Alibaba looks over at him. "Yeah, just tired. Maybe I shouldn't have given my number to all the girls who gave me theirs, 'cause they've been texting me at all hours," he explains, glancing back down at his phone when it beeps.

Judal's face is sympathetic, but Hakuryuu sees the gleam in his eyes. He's planning something. "That does sound tiring," he says kindly. "It seems like you're carrying a lot negative energy on you right now."

"I mean, I wanted the attention," Alibaba says, almost guiltily. "I've wanted to be popular with girls for so long...I know I kind of sound like a loser, but no one ever wanted to go out with me! And it's something I _really_ wanted."

"Enough to wish for it? Perhaps aloud, while moping around you home?" Judal asks, sympathy replaced with cold determination. Hakuryuu can see where he's going with it now.

"Uh. Maybe?" Alibaba ducks his head, refusing to meet Judal's gaze.

Judal groans. "Of course you did."

"So? It's not like wishing for things does anything about them. I know you gave me that whole 'genie in the lamp' spiel but it's not like that's actually real...no offense to your job, it's just not something that's gonna happen," Alibaba replies stubbornly, though he does still look nervous. Judal just looks annoyed.

"You don't have to take me seriously to realize you messed-"

Hakuryuu elbows him to cut him off, and Judal glares. "I know Judal's attitude can be strange, but you _did_ say you'd listen to his requests."

Alibaba frowns. "Come on, I can't see you buying into all of that," he says, laughing nervously, glancing between the two of them. "Right?"

"Well-" Hakuryuu starts to say, trying to keep things diplomatic and reasonable sounding, but Judal interrupts him.

"Of course it is. I'm not some sort of skeevy liar, selling _fake_ cursed lamps," Judal says proudly. Hakuryuu sighs, rubbing his temples. Apparently they're going right into magical land. Alibaba is going to think they're both crazy at this rate.

Instead, Alibaba starts to look legitimately concerned. "Haha, yeah, sure, of course!"

Judal moves to get up but Hakuryuu pulls him back down. "We're not trying to harass you, right Judal?" Hakuryuu says pointedly, and Judal grumbles.

"It's cool, it's cool, I guess you really live and breathe your whole...look?" Alibaba tries, and Hakuryuu cringes. Judal's not going to take that as a compliment. Conveniently, the doorbell rings before anyone else can say anything. "That was quick! Lemme get that," Alibaba says, practically flying out of his seat to escape the conversation.

Hakuryuu shoots Judal a withering look and he just shrugs, unrepentant. "You said you'd behave," he hisses.

"I _am_ behaving," Judal shoots back, just as quietly.

There's a commotion at the door, and Alibaba comes stumbling back into the living room looking tousled and roughed up. "Yeah uh, the food isn't here yet," he says quickly. "I- I think I need to go upstairs."

Judal gets up, full of suspicion and doubt. "What happened?"

"Ah, nothing!"

Hakuryuu heads to investigate the door, since he's realized that he can't stop Judal. The doorbell starts ringing again, over and over, while someone pounds on the front door. That's not a good sign. Hakuryuu peeks through one of the windows to see a young woman pounding at the door with all her strength. She whips around and catches Hakuryuu staring, and her eyes narrow at him.

"You're not Alibaba!" she yells.

"No, I'm not. I don't think he's available right now," Hakuryuu tells her. He's definitely not opening the door.

"But I need to see him!" she screeches. "He's my _true love_!"

He backs away from the window. That isn't normal. He comes back to Judal and Alibaba bickering.

"No, I'm telling you, just someone at the wrong place," Alibaba pleads with Judal, who still seems unconvinced. He's looking less mysterious and more annoyed, which means Judal has definitely lost his patience.

"Alibaba, your true love is at the door," Hakuryuu says, and Alibaba's expression drops dramatically. He looks around the room in panic.

Judal cackles and points at him aggressively. "Ha! I knew it!"

"You know, maybe it's something else. I'm very popular with the ladies now," Alibaba says defensively, holding his hands up. "That's not because wishes are real or anything."

Hakuryuu groans. "Judal-"

"It's a _problem_ ," he stresses. "And I don't know how bad it is, so he has to own up to it so I can start to figure it out!"

Alibaba starts creeping out of the room, trying to escape up the stairs, when there's a loud crash from the front of the house. The three of them freeze, before slowly turning to glance down the hallway. The front door lays in splintered pieces on the ground and the young lady from the porch is standing on top of it victoriously.

"Alibaba!" she screams joyously, running towards him. "I knew our love would give me the strength to get to you!"


	20. Chapter 20

WOOOO this was like a beast to edit but thanks to **dragonofeternal** it's actually pretty good now ;D and not insanely late! I hope y'all enjoy~

oh, and Happy Thanksgiving to any of my fellow Americans...may ur turkey be delicious and ur family time as good as possible! :D

* * *

Judal whips his wand out quickly and throws a barrier in front of them, just barely stopping the maddened girl in her tracks. Rage fills her eyes as she pounds on the invisible wall, sending small shimmers through the air along its surface. Judal glances back at Alibaba and Hakuryuu, scowling. "It's not about wishes or anything," he sneers, mocking Alibaba's voice. "Get him outta here, Hakuryuu. I'll take care of this broad."

Hakuryuu pulls Alibaba further into the house, away from the imminent danger. He's sure Judal can handle a skinny coed without much trouble.

Alibaba sinks into one of the chairs in the kitchen dining nook, sighing. "What was that?"

"Do you know her?" Hakuryuu asks, staring down at Alibaba.

"Uh. Maybe? I don't think so, though. Even if she's one of the girls who I've been texting, I never told any of them where I live," he says, looking around nervously. "I have no idea how she got here."

Hakuryuu takes a deep breath. Alibaba's desperation has finally put him in danger, though he supposes he didn't expect it. Even so, it's no real excuse for not following directions. "You wished on the lamp, didn't you?"

"I don't see what the big deal is!" he snaps in frustration. "Is this some kind of practical joke?"

"What?"

"It's not funny," Alibaba says, scowling.

Hakuryuu clenches and unclenches his fists. "It's not a joke. When have I ever played jokes on people?"

This catches Alibaba off guard and he stops complaining briefly. In the awkward silence that follows, Hakuryuu can hear Judal yelling obscenities, which could mean anything. Hopefully he's gotten rid of her, but it doesn't sound likely.

"I guess you _are_ really serious," Alibaba finally says. "But I still don't understand what's happening."

"I'm not going to hold your hand and explain the entire world to you, Alibaba," Hakuryuu says, exasperated. This entire night has turned into a bit of a disaster, and he's trying not to let it color his opinions of Alibaba anymore, no matter how hard that might be. "Sometimes curses are real, so if you don't listen to warnings you can end up in messes like this. Did you wish for anything else?"

Guilty silence follows.

"Alibaba-"

"Okay, okay, I did! Just one other thing though, but I didn't think it would actually _do_ anything," he whines. Hakuryuu looks at him expectantly, waiting for the answer that he already knows. Eventually Alibaba ducks his head in shame. "I wished for Cassim to get out of prison. I didn't know it would happen the way it did."

Hakuryuu almost feels bad for him. "You saw the news reports, then."

"I can't believe he'd lead that kind of prison break, though. Cassim really is a good guy," Alibaba assures him, but Hakuryuu has his doubts. Maybe it _is_ the genie's work, but he can't shake the feeling that violence that extreme is just the result of a wish gone wrong.

"Mmhm," Hakuryuu says, but he doesn't sound convinced. Should he go check on Judal? It's been awhile. He should probably make sure nothing's gone wrong. "I'm going to help Judal."

"What was he doing?" Alibaba asks, still trying to get his answer, and Hakuryuu sighs.

He pulls out of his own wand, mentally congratulating himself for making the habit of keeping it on him. Though with Zagan's wand, it feels weird _not_ to carry it around, now that it's become such a part of his being. "Saving you. You should be grateful," he says shortly, before turning and heading back to Judal.

Judal is still fending off the woman. Hakuryuu has realized that his skills include very little in the way of defensive spells, which makes getting rid of her without violence difficult. Instead, Judal's just been keeping her at bay and yelling for her to go away. Hakuryuu sighs and goes to offer him help just as Aladdin comes down the stairs.

"Is everything alright-" Aladdin starts to ask, probably concerned about the commotion, before cutting off to stare at the scene in front of him. There's a visibly upset woman pounding on an invisible barrier so hard that it's warping the magic while Judal tries to subdue her while swearing loudly. All in all, it's not a good thing to come into. "What the hell?"

Judal glances back and groans. "Oh, _you_."

Hakuryuu joins Judal. "Do you need help?" Maybe if he doesn't acknowledge Aladdin, the problem will solve itself. Belatedly, he realizes that he's starting to use Judal's coping skills, and that's not always a good thing.

"Uh, maybe? You might be better at this whole...peaceful negotiation thing, though I don't think this bitch wants to leave quietly," Judal answers, jabbing his wand at her accusingly. "You hear that? Alibaba doesn't want you around!"

The woman screams incoherently in reply and almost shatters the barrier in anger. Her face is a contorted parody of rage and need, painted lips twisted into a cruel snarl as she does her best to beat down everything between her and her one true love. "You can't keep us apart! I love him!"

"What are you two doing?" Aladdin asks again. Apparently he's recovered from his shock enough to want answers.

"Alibooba made some sort of dumb wish for girls to love him 'cause he's stupid and desperate," Judal says simply, before turning back to cast a stronger barrier that can ward off her blows without threatening to break or bend. "She's got some sort of extra strength, probs because of the magic behind the wish," Judal tells Hakuryuu, tuning Aladdin out again.

"I've noticed," Hakuryuu says, frowning. He doesn't think he'll be able to do anything through Judal's barrier, but he also doesn't want to risk whatever damage she can do to him with her superpowered anger if he steps outside of it. He's not even sure he'll be able to calm her down.

Aladdin looks at the woman, and then at Judal and Hakuryuu. "Why is this lady here?"

"Why don't you ask your stupid buddy Alibooba," Judal spits back. Hakuryuu realizes that holding up the barrier is taking a decent amount of Judal's focus. He's not the kind to practice defense regularly, and it's annoying and attention-consuming for him at the very least.

"We can explain things later, Aladdin," Hakuryuu says, trying to let Judal focus on the spell by distracting Aladdin. "Why don't you go check on Alibaba, he's probably-"

There's another crash from the door, and Aladdin, Judal, and Hakuryuu turn to stare down the hallway. It sounded like someone at the front door, but thankfully they're not so rude as to come barging in when no one knocks. Then the crash comes again, the door buckling under the force, and finally it splinters inwards, showering bits of wood all over the entryway.

Another woman clambers through the wreckage, mindless of the splintering wood that still stands scraping at her clothes and hair. Once she's through, she comes rushing towards them, desperation and want burning in her eyes. She eyes up the first woman - still pounding on the barrier and demanding to be let in to see Alibaba - and grabs her by her long hair, throwing her away from the barrier. The first woman snarls like an animal and lunges at the second.

Aladdin shakes his head. "We have to stop them. I'm getting my wand." He turns to go upstairs, but freezes when the second woman screams, shoved backwards into the barrier by the first. The first woman lunges, her broken, painted nails reaching for the second woman, but it's to no avail. The second woman pulls out a large knife from her purse, and before anyone can react, she plunges it into the other woman's neck, over and over.

"Holy shit!" Judal yells, but it's over so quickly they don't have time to stop her. The first woman crumples to the ground and goes still, laying in a quickly growing pool of her own blood.

There's an eerie silence as they take in what just happened, but the remaining woman seems unperturbed. "Where's Alibaba? Where are you hiding him?"

"Lady, what the _fuck_ ," Judal says incredulously, shaking his head.

"She was in the way," she answers simply. "I'm the only one who deserves his love!" She strikes the barrier with the knife, testing it. "You can't keep him from me. Alibaba and I are going to be together forever."

"Yeah, this is fucked up," he says, turning to gesture at Aladdin aggressively. "You! You're someone magic, too. Why didn't you notice the evil cursed lamp in your own stupid house?" he asks accusingly.

Aladdin frowns. "What cursed lamp? Don't we have bigger things to worry about right now? She just killed someone!"

Judal rolls his eyes, turning back to deal with the problem at hand. Hakuryuu sighs. Apparently it's up to him to explain things. "Alibaba bought a decorative lamp from Judal's antique store a few weeks ago and was given very firm instructions not to wish on it, but he did anyway."

He nods. "I remember. That's where he ran into you."

"Well, since he didn't listen, it's become a mess that has to be cleaned up," Hakuryuu says, gesturing at the disaster around them. Judal murmurs a few words under his breath and the barrier flares out before condensing into a spell, and the woman falls to ground. Oh, god. Did Judal really decide that killing her was the best option? "Judal!"

Judal glares down at the bodies on the ground. "Ugh, this is stupid."

"Did you have to kill her?" Hakuryuu asks, and Judal shakes his head.

"She's not dead, just incapacitated. For now. We're gonna have to dump her somewhere," he says casually. Alibaba pokes his head out of the kitchen now that it's quiet.

"Is she gone?" he asks.

"In a way, yeah," Judal answers, nudging the corpse with his foot. Aladdin is staring in quiet horror, obviously unsure of how to react to a dead body in his home. It's a fair concern.

Alibaba gingerly comes closer, standing near Aladdin defensively. "Is- is that a dead body? Are they _both_ dead?" he asks in horror, voice going high pitched at the end. He looks a little ill.

"Just one of them," Judal says cheerfully. Why is he so bad at this? No one should be this cheery around dead people, especially not innocent bystanders. It would have to be someone truly terrible to inspire this level of happiness without arousing concern. Hakuryuu wishes Judal could feign a little horror, if only to make the whole situation less awkward. "Anyway, we should definitely clean this up soon, 'cause I don't wanna explain it to the food delivery person. It's kinda awkward."

Aladdin looks horrified, too. "Clean this up? We can't just hide a corpse!"

"Of course you can. Look, I'm gonna just...put this unconscious one somewhere else. She's fine," Judal assures everyone, drawing a teleportation sigil on the ground next to her and then nudging her into it with his foot before anyone can disagree further. Hakuryuu sighs.

"You got rid of the evidence!" Alibaba yells, staring wide-eyed where she vanished. "What did you do?"

"What did I do?" Judal points his wand at Alibaba aggressively. "More like what did you do! Here's the answer: You fucked up!"

Alibaba jumps back, pushing Aladdin in front of him in defense. "Uh. Haha. It's not a big deal."

"Someone is dead because there are now women ready to kill for you," Hakuryuu says. "It's very serious."

The mood somehow turns even more somber as everyone but Judal regards the corpse. Since Judal removed her murderer, there really isn't much else they can do except clean up the mess. It's tragic, sure, but if they call the police there's no way to explain themselves. He knows better than to get involved in something like that.

"Are we done standing around feeling guilty or whatever? I'm ditching this dead broad somewhere," Judal says, moving to draw another teleportation sigil. "Hakuryuu, you wanna clean up the rest? You're better at that shit."

He nods. "Of course."

Judal gives him a thumbs up and jumps through the sigil, pulling the corpse along with magic. Hakuryuu pulls out his wand to clean up the blood now that nothing's in the way. It's different than his usual magical tasks, but he's pretty sure he can modify it to work. He enlarges some of the microbes in the air around him and sets them to the dask of absorbing the blood.

Alibaba turns to stare at Hakuryuu now. "How are you so calm? Do you have to deal with dead people all the time?"

"Not often, but it comes up," he answers, watching his microbes work. They're doing a good job, even better than he expected, and he's proud of them. He'll have to test this out more later.

"It comes up?" Aladdin asks, frowning. "What are you doing with someone like Judal?"

"Working for him," Hakuryuu says simply, turning to look at the broken door down the hall. He might be able to fix that, too. The wood has been cut and carved and treated into something unnatural, but that doesn't mean it can't grow together again.

Alibaba sits on the bottom step, watching Hakuryuu work like his entire world has been knocked off kilter. He supposes that makes sense, since apparently Aladdin never mentioned magic to him. Hakuryuu always assumed they were close friends without secrets, but he must have been wrong. He's assuming Aladdin knows about magic, at the very least. He seems horrified by the murder but not the magical circumstances around it.

Aladdin seems unhappy with his answer. "I don't know _how_ you ended up working for him, but he seems dangerous," he says. "He sold a random civilian a cursed item! And murder didn't even faze him."

"Well, yes. But he did give Alibaba a warning," Hakuryuu points out. "I was there."

This causes Aladdin's expression to drop even more. "Hakuryuu…"

Judal reappears before Aladdin can give him some sort of lecture or advice he doesn't need. Hakuryuu now remembers why he didn't keep in touch with them. He always felt like a weight they didn't need, yes, but they also always had such bright, shining ideas about what good means that it was exhausting. That hasn't changed.

At least Judal looks satisfied. "That's taken care of," he says, dusting himself off. "Ooooh, I didn't know your weird giant germ things could do that! Nice."

"They're not giant germs. I've enlarged the microbes in the air-" he begins, and Judal chuckles.

"Yeah, got it. You gonna fix the front door, too?" he asks.

"Yes."

"Good! Hey, what's with all the gloomy faces? I just saved your asses from getting arrested or something shitty like that," Judal whines. "You should be _grateful_."

Aladdin and Alibaba stare at Judal, mouths agape. Hakuryuu doesn't even try to fix the situation; he just goes to the front door and urges it back together. The splinters creak and complain, but life magic courses through him and the wood, and eventually they obey him. He uses thick vines to position it back in the doorframe and to twist the screws back in. Hakuryuu steps back to look at it proudly: it looks almost good as new.

Judal is, unfortunately, still arguing. He thinks he's done nothing wrong and refuses to listen to anything else.

"Judal," Hakuryuu says, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe we should just go home."

"What? No, I want my dinner," he whines. "Even if your stupid friends don't wanna thank me, they shouldn't be blaming me for this mess."

"I know-"

"What?" Alibaba interrupts. "Dude, someone got killed here and I'm pretty sure Aladdin didn't do it. Or you!"

Judal rolls his eyes. "Do you really think I killed that chick? No way! It's a waste of time."

"But-"

The doorbell rings, and they all whirl around to stare at the front door. Hakuryuu wants it to be their food, but he grips his wand anyway. He's not usually that lucky. Everyone stares, tension and fear vibrating through the air, until Judal flounces forward fearlessly when he realizes no one else will.

Alibaba keeps glancing between the front door and Hakuryuu, like he's not sure what to make of anything that's going on. Miraculously, there's no sign of a struggle, and Judal returns with a large bag of delivery Chinese food.

"Success," he says, grinning. He wanders further down the hall and Hakuryuu follows him until they end up in the kitchen, where Judal plunks the bag down on the counter and starts going through it. "I'm taking our stuff and going home. This is lame."

Hakuryuu leans in. "Do you think that's wise? Someone else could show up looking for Alibaba," he says quietly.

Judal shrugs, unconcerned. "His problem."

"I suppose that's fair." Hakuryuu feels a little bad, but honestly it's Alibaba's fault. He tries not to think about it as he waits for Judal to find their food in the bag.

"Also, I'm gonna throw some protection charms around the house as we leave, 'cause I'm a nice fucking person like that. I'm gonna trust blue-haired brat to deal the rest, since he looks competent. I guess," Judal explains, pulling out their food. "Let's blow this popsicle stand."

"Alright," Hakuryuu agrees. Aladdin and Alibaba are also quietly discussing something between themselves, and he feels himself tense up. Everyone seems to turn on him eventually. "We're going home," he says as they pass, and they both look up guiltily.

Alibaba frowns. "You don't have to," he says, but Aladdin doesn't look like he agrees. Fine.

"Nah, your place fuckin' blows. Try not to make any other reckless wishes," Judal says, grabbing Hakuryuu's hand. "Come on, I wanna get home before this gets cold."

Hakuryuu shrugs, following Judal out. "Have a nice night," he says politely, before shutting the door behind them. Judal is practically skipping down the stairs and off the porch; at least he's in a good mood. Hakuryuu is stressed and upset, mostly at how quick Aladdin was the judge everything.

Judal sets Hakuryuu's food in the backseat but keeps his container of lo mein and a pair of chopsticks when he crawls into the passenger seat. Hakuryuu glances over, concerned.

"What are you doing with that?"

"I'm still hungry," Judal says, opening the container. "Ohh good, it looks like they _did_ listen to my request."

Hakuryuu snatches his chopsticks away. "You cannot seriously think you're going to eat that in my car. You already make a mess with finger food; that is so much worse."

Judal whines. "But I want my food."

"Then be patient. You can wait another twenty minutes to eat," he says, turning the car on. Judal pouts but closes the container and twists around to put it with the rest of the food. He waits until Judal has settled into his seat again and buckled up before heading back to the shop.

Hakuryuu parks behind back in what feels like his usual spot these days and Judal jumps out to grab the food.

"You comin' up?" he asks, containers of food balanced precariously in his hands.

"It looks like you decided for me already," Hakuryuu says, the tiniest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Somehow Judal has learned how to make him feel better even when he's stressed out.

Judal shrugs. "So? Come on, I still wanna have a nice night with you."

Hakuryuu follows him up the now familiar flight of stairs, into his cozy living room, and Judal goes right for the couch with the food. Hakuryuu removes his shoes by the door and raises an eyebrow. "We could eat at the table, you know."

"No," Judal says simply. "I had to deal with your stupid judgy friends and get rid of a dead body. I wanna be comfy."

He can see he's lost this fight before it's even begun. Hakuryuu gets himself a bowl from the kitchen to prevent any sort of messes, though he knows that Judal is a lost cause. It's his couch, though. He can't save it. "I'm sorry about my friends," Hakuryuu says, settling in next to Judal on the couch and taking his General Tso's Chicken.

"I can see why you didn't wanna hang out with them," he says noisily, slurping up a noodle. "They suck."

"I think they mean well," Hakuryuu explains, but it doesn't make him feel any better. "They're just not good at seeing other people's side of the situation."

Judal nods enthusiastically. "Yeah, and they acted like it was my fault there was a dead body. Like come on, maybe Alibooba should have listened to me the first time."

Hakuryuu takes some time to think over his response and eat. He didn't listen to Judal either, and ended up in trouble because of it. But looking back with a clear mind, he can see that he was at fault. He _should_ have listened. He's always prided himself as somewhere who followed instructions and didn't break the mold, and if he had, he wouldn't be in the situation he is now.

Judal stabs a piece of Hakuryuu's chicken and steals it, plopping it in his own container victoriously before grinning over at him. "I wanted to try it."

Hakuryuu isn't sure he'd want out of it now, though. Working for Judal is satisfying in ways he never expected and whatever they have between them isn't something he'd want to give up.

"You don't like spicy things," Hakuryuu warns him and Judal frowns.

"I know, but it looks like...shiny and sweet, you know? Like a glazed donut, but in chicken form," he says, eyeing it suspiciously.

"It's still sweet, it's just also spicy."

"That is true betrayal," Judal whines. "How dare it!"

Hakuryuu shrugs. "You might still like it. Have you really never tried it before?"

"Just 'cause I'm old doesn't mean I've tried everything," he explains, taking a tentative bite. He cringes slightly but doesn't seem completely grossed out. That's a good sign. "Eh, it could be worse. I like the crunchy outside part."

"Uh huh."

"I do! Just less spice and it would be perfect," Judal says, and Hakuryuu takes note. Maybe if he made some sort of peach glazed chicken, Judal would enjoy it. It sounds simple enough to whip up; he'll have to keep it in mind for the next time he wants to cook for him.

They finish eating quietly, both of them hungrier than usual. Magic is tiring work, and Hakuryuu hadn't realized how much he'd done until he sat down to eat.

Judal leans his head on Hakuryuu's shoulder and breathes out heavily. "You blame Alibaba more than me, don't you?"

He reaches up to scratch Judal's head, and he makes a soft, happy noise. "I do. You did give him fair warning, but him and Aladdin seemed upset with you anyway."

"Probably 'cause I sold an incredibly dangerous item to a moron with no common sense," he says, nudging Hakuryuu's hand for more pets. "Some people think that's irresponsible."

"I guess so."

Judal grins. "You make a good partner. I'm glad you fucked up and have to deal with me."

"Selfish brat."

"I don't hear you complaining."

Hakuryuu doesn't respond, but he doesn't have to. This time, when Judal offers to let him stay, he doesn't turn him down, and settles on the uncomfortable futon in his spare room. Judal barrels in with his arms full of pillows and blankets; it looks like he's preparing some sort of nest. "Hey, I brought you soft stuff."

Hakuryuu raises an eyebrow. "All of this?"

"Yeah! It'll be more comfortable this way," he explains. "I mean, my bed is practically a nest of shit like this, so I figured I could donate some to you for the night."

"I don't think I've ever slept with so many pillows in my life."

"Well, you're missing out. Learn to experience joy!" he says excitedly, dropping everything on the futon. Hakuryuu shakes his head and tries to gather it into some semblance of an organized pile instead of the mess it's in now.

"Thank you," he says, and Judal tosses him some loose pants and a shirt. "And for these, too. You're oddly prepared."

"I like having you around here," Judal says honestly, leaning in to kiss him quickly. "Sleep well, Hakuryuu."


	21. Chapter 21

happy end of NaNoWriMo to meeee, I finished a few days early! so now I've got quite a few chapters of this written in advance, they just need...a lot of editing... I hope y'all are in for a ride, because we're only about halfway through my outline of this fic~

as always, the text conversations look way better on ao3, _and_ I actually reply to reviews there. so if you wanna see the prettier version of this chapter and chat with me, you can do it there!

* * *

Hakuryuu doesn't hear from Alibaba the next day, or the day after, or even the day after that. He's pretty sure their friendship has once again dissolved due to his failure to conform to whatever Alibaba wants from his friends, so Hakuryuu tries not to think about it too hard.

Almost a week later, during a slow afternoon at work, Hakuryuu takes a break from sorting papers while Judal tries to figure out what they should have for lunch. His phone has been blowing up, and he's surprised when he pulls it out to find a text from Alibaba.

 **Alibaba:** Hey, Hakuryuu  
 **Alibaba:** I think I have a bit of a problem  
 **Alibaba:** Cassim showed up and really needed somewhere to crash  
 **Alibaba:** & it wasn't liked I could just throw him out!  
 **Alibaba:** He's like a brother to me!  
 **Alibaba:** But I don't think Aladdin is gonna appreciate him being here for some reason and I dunno what else to do

He stares at his phone for a bit to make sure he actually read that right. Alibaba is harboring a wanted criminal he wants _his_ advice? How does this make any sense at all? Judal is still in the office making himself some sort of horribly sweet coffee concoction, so it's up to him to come up with an answer on his own.

 **Hakuryuu:** I'm not sure what to tell you. Hiding a criminal is definitely a serious offense, and texting me about it isn't secure either.  
 **Alibaba:** Shit your right  
 **Alibaba:** But I didn't wanna leave him here to come ask you  
 **Alibaba:** What if someone was following him?

Judal comes over in the middle of his text conversation and whistles. "Jeez, what is _this_ mess?"

Hakuryuu scrolls up some so Judal can see. "I don't know what to say. He's ignored me all week and now he wants my help with a dangerous fugitive. I don't want to be an accomplice to his crimes."

"Mmm, that's 'cause you're already tied up being one to mine," Judal teases, reading over the texts again. "This is stupid. Cassim sounds like a fucker of a friend, but I'd probably be selfish enough to risk my friends' safety, too."

 **Hakuryuu:** I'm don't know why you asked me. I try to stay away from criminal activity.  
 **Alibaba:** Okay true  
 **Alibaba:** But Judal made a dead body disappear  
 **Hakuryuu:** Alibaba, texting is not a secure form of communication.  
 **Alibaba:** I know! But it's true!  
 **Hakuryuu:** I still can't help you.

"Shit, throwing you under the bus just 'cause I know how to clean up messes? That's cold," Judal says, since apparently he's going to run commentary on Hakuryuu's conversations while drinking his coffee. It smells like burnt sugar and bad ideas, and Hakuryuu almost wants some with how his day is going now.

"I'm not sure what to tell him. I'm not going to help him hide a murderer," Hakuryuu says firmly. "Doesn't he have Aladdin and Morgiana to rely on? Though I don't want to see him involving Morgiana, either. It would be entirely inappropriate."

Judal shrugs. "You told him you couldn't help. You can just ignore the rest of his responses now if you wanna."

"He seems desperate."

"Desperation got him into this mess," Judal says, unconcerned.

Hakuryuu nods. "True." He's willing to let Alibaba suffer for his mistakes, but he's still a bit concerned about the criminals on the loose and whatever other repercussions might come from that. Judal may not be worried, but he also likes to pretend most things don't bother him (even when they do).

He'll take a look at the news while it's still slow. Hopefully it'll just be the unfortunate but ever present daily crime. He's not an optimistic man, but in this case he's trying to pretend things will be better.

There's nothing too terribly pressing from first glance, and he gets pulled away to help a customer while Judal goes hunting for things in the back for someone else. He's just going to focus on work today and worry about Alibaba's problems later, or potentially never. Like Judal said, he got himself into this mess. It's not his responsibility to fix it.

x･x･x

A few hours later, Alibaba comes strolling in, apparently intent on making his problems everyone's responsibility. Judal glances up when he walks in and looks at Alibaba like he's the sun: like he can't actually stare at a moron so bright and huge without being in pain.

"Hey again, guys," he says cheerfully, but it doesn't do anything to relieve the tension in the air. Hakuryuu puts down his book and takes a deep breath.

"Hello, Alibaba," Hakuryuu says politely. "Can we help you?"

"Well, you said that we should stop texting, so I decided to just come by, you know?" Alibaba says. "There's no one else here so like, it should be a good time!"

Judal gestures at him aggressively with a pen. "You didn't bring your little prison boyfriend with you, right?"

There's an awkward pause, and Judal swears colorfully in what sounds like a variety of languages. "You're a fucking idiot."

"I mean, he's in the car right now," Alibaba tries to explain. "And he's not a boyfriend or anything weird like that. He's a very important childhood friend. We were basically raised as brothers!"

"Oh, that's so much better. Leaving him out in the open like that is _definitely_ the right idea," Judal say sarcastically, carefully ignoring all of Alibaba's disagreements.

"No, no! He's under a hoodie in the back where the windows are tinted," he says, like that makes everything better. Hakuryuu can see Judal losing his patience even more, which is impressive since he's pretty sure Judal didn't have any for Alibaba to begin with.

Judal rolls his eyes. "You're pretty much the biggest idiot I've ever met," he groans. Hakuryuu expects him to throw Alibaba out and tell him to deal on his own, but instead he turns to Hakuryuu. "Go to the back and take the third door on the left, just past the burnt up painting of ducks, and make sure there's nothing dangerous just sitting around in there."

Hakuryuu almost thinks he heard wrong, but Judal keeps talking. "Get your convict out of the car and try not to do anything else stupid on the way," he snaps, shooing Alibaba out of the store.

"Judal?"

"I _should_ let him suffer, but I'm pretty sure if I don't, it's gonna come bite me in the ass," Judal says, exhaling loudly. "So just...go deal with shit. I'm closing the store for a bit."

He nods. "Of course," he says, heading to the back. He doesn't go into any of the various doors unless given specific instructions, but apparently this is one of those rare times that he has to, and this is a new one. He finds it just where Judal said it would be, the door tucked between the painting and a rather hideous old chair.

Hakuryuu opens the door to find a dusty looking storage room that looks like it was lost in time a century ago, outfitted with some simple furniture but not much else. There's a pair of windows on one wall, but upon inspection they don't appear to actually open to anywhere outside the shop. Instead, they face an empty, plain looking street that looks just as old and forgotten. He'll have to ask Judal about it later, but for now he's got a task to accomplish. Thankfully, Judal hasn't used this room to stash things, so it should be safe for whatever he has planned.

He opens the door and finds himself face to face with a very grumpy looking Judal. "Move, move, I don't want him in here for long," Judal says, pushing Hakuryuu aside to lead Alibaba and Cassim in.

"There's nothing dangerous in here," Hakuryuu says, shutting the door behind all of them, and Judal gives him a thumbs up.

Alibaba looks around, obviously lost and confused, and Cassim plops into one of the chairs and shrugs off his hoodie. Hakuryuu remembers meeting him once in high school, very briefly, but they never got to know each other. He vaguely thinks it may have already been after he was kicked out of the school but before all his run-ins with the police. Alibaba was convinced they'd make good friends, though. He guesses it's time to put that to the test.

"Alright fuckboys," Judal snaps, and Alibaba freezes in place. "Alibaba, you're an idiot, and I'm only helping you because that genie you decided to wake up is gonna cause more problems if I don't. And uh, prison dude, whatever your name is: I don't care, but you look like you're also gonna make a mess if I leave you in Alibooba's hands."

Cassim shrugs, looking entirely unrepentant to the trouble he's caused any of them. "Alibaba doesn't mind having me around though, right?"

"Yeah, of course! I mean, I kind of wanted you to get out through legal means," he begins, but Cassim cuts him off with a laugh.

"Hey, I had the opportunity to make it work, so I did! We can't all breeze through life on daddy's money like you do," he cuts in, and it's just bitter enough that Hakuryuu wonders if he's not joking around. Alibaba seems to think he is though, since he laughs back. "Anyway, what kind of food do you have in this place? I'm starving!"

Judal doesn't even dignify him with a response. "You're gonna stay in here until… I dunno, we're done with the genie thing, and then I guess I can toss your ass back in jail," he says, pausing to consider his options. Alibaba looks crestfallen and Cassim looks pissed enough to actually punch Judal in the face. That's a bad sign.

"I'm not going _back_ ," Cassim snaps and Judal shrugs.

"Okay, fine, you can be Alibaba's problem once he's done being cursed by a genie, I don't care. Come on, Hakuryuu," he says, turning on his heel to head out. Hakuryuu gives Alibaba a half-hearted smile and follows Judal out.

"Hey," Cassim starts, getting up from the chair to start towards Judal. "Hey, listen to me assho-"

Judal taps the door with his wand, and it glows with runes before the whole thing vanishes. There's a beat of silence and then he screams in frustration, looking like he'd love to be able to blow something up right now.

"I'm sorry," Hakuryuu says once Judal is done screaming.

"What are _you_ apologizing for? You're not an idiot," he says, eyes wide in confusion.

He gestures to where the door was. "Alibaba is an acquaintance of mine. If he wasn't, you wouldn't be this involved."

"Well, I kinda sold him that because you seemed uncomfortable around him, and I'm a dumbass who thinks that making people you don't like unhappy will solve the problem somehow," Judal admits, fidgeting nervously with a loose thread on his shirt. "So I guess this is like even more my fault, but how was I supposed to know he had some tragic prison bitch backstory?"

Hakuryuu fights to keep from smiling. "That is such a roundabout way to try to do something nice for me."

"Yeah, I'm pretty much an idiot," he says.

"Where did the door go?" Hakuryuu finally asks, curiosity getting the better of him, and Judal's grin scares him.

"They're not hurt or anything. I just didn't want anyone to accidentally wander in there, and I didn't trust prison boy to stay in there quietly," Judal explains. "I can bring the door back, but no one else can."

Hakuryuu glances over the wall once more, memorizing where they are just in case of emergency, and nods. "I see."

"I'm just gonna close down," Judal says. "Don't gimme that look."

"What look?" he asks. He doesn't _think_ he's making any sort of face, but Judal seems to think he is.

"You know, your whole disappointed one, because you want me to be some sort of responsible business person. I'm just shitty at it and wanna take a nap until my problems go away," he whines. "But I gotta deal with this genie shit instead, which means we have to break into Alibaba's apartment to get it back and then, I dunno. I don't have the next step planned out."

Hakuryuu nods and starts heading back to the front of the shop, hoping Judal will just follow him. He hears the telltale jingle of Judal's bracelets knocking against each other behind him, and that's a good sign. "I'll help you out, if you want. We could also just ask Alibaba for his key, or I could ask Aladdin if I could pick something up for Alibaba from the apartment."

Judal laughs happily. "Man, am I glad you're better at the social part of things than me. That's a good idea."

"I don't think anyone has ever told me that I'm good at social situations before." Hakuryuu glances back at him. "In fact, I think you told me just the other day that I was bad at socializing."

"Eh, seems you're pretty shitty at keeping up friendships, but you're good at playing nice." Judal says, grinning. "Even though I know you're just as much as an asshole as me underneath your stuffy button ups and formal speech,"

Hakuryuu shoves his shoulder lightly. "I am not as rude as you are."

"Yeah, but that's not what I said. You're a judgy ass _silently_ , even when you're smiling at someone," he corrects. "I gotta wonder what you think about me sometimes."

He stops to look at Judal. "I like you quite a lot, you know."

Judal's teasing grin freezes in on his face, and Hakuryuu worries that he somehow gave the worst answer, but it softens into a look that's much fonder. "Don't say shit like that or I'll like you too much," he says, before leaning in to kiss Hakuryuu's cheek. "Now come on, we have to figure out how to destroy an ancient evil genie."

x･x･x

Hours later, Judal groans dramatically. Hakuryuu glances up from his own limited research to see him practically crawling out of his chair with a book falling out of his lap. His wand is balanced precariously on one of his knees, and the whole tableau looks ridiculous.

"What's wrong?"

"Genies are fucking stupid," he declares. "I can see why the idiots trapped one in this lamp instead of actually solving the problem, but I don't have to like it."

Hakuryuu nods. "I'd gathered that it was hard through what I'd read so far, but I was hoping you were having better luck than me."

"Nope!"

Hakuryuu feels his phone vibrate before he can answer Judal, and he pulls it out to check. It's not like he has a good solution to the problem yet. Alibaba's name flashes back at him. Apparently he can get service in the strange magic room Judal stuck him in.

 **Alibaba:** Hey uh so we can't get out of here  
 **Alibaba:** It's kind of weird  
 **Hakuryuu:** It's for your own safety. Cassim is wanted by the police, and we're trying to take care of this genie before it hurts you.  
 **Alibaba:** I know!  
 **Alibaba:** But it's still weird  
 **Alibaba:** And we're both hungry

Hakuryuu pinches the bridge of his nose. He feels like he's going to have to play babysitter to Alibaba and Cassim, and he's not looking forward to it. Judal would probably forget them and leave them to starve, so it's his responsibility. "Do you have any real food in your apartment?" he asks Judal.

"Uh, maybe?" he answers, unsure. "I think I have some leftover lo mein if you're hungry."

"Alibaba texted me. Apparently him and Cassim are hungry," he explains and Judal rolls his eyes.

"Oh fuck that, they can starve," he says, unconcerned. He finally shifts back into a sitting position and picks his book up, ready to read again.

Hakuryuu sighs. "Judal, we can't just pretend they're not here. I'm not too happy about this either, but I don't want them to die just because Alibaba is an idiot."

"I guess."

"Where _are_ they?" Hakuryuu asks, curiosity getting the better of him. He knows he should really be getting some sort of food together, or helping Judal research, but he wants to know.

Judal grins at him. "There's a lotta extra rooms in this place, yeah? It's modeled off a room I rented once, 'cause I thought it was kinda cute and would make a good place to store shit I didn't need to use much. I'll have to take you on a tour of all them someday, now that I think about it."

"So, it's not actually that room, right?" Hakuryuu asks, just to clarify.

"Mm, it's the room of my memories, so yes and no," he says, looking like he's trying to figure out how to explain it properly. "If they crawled out the windows eventually they'd run out of what's there and then hit a wall, probably. I dunno. They probably shouldn't go looking for the edges, though."

He nods, considering it. Judal's shop fits what he's selling: a mix of magic and strange things that will hurt you if you try to hard to pull them apart, and it hasn't stopped being interesting. "I see."

"Yeah, it's pretty cool, huh? I really wanted to make this place _mine_ ," he says. "I wanted to actually stick around for more than a couple years. Really settle down in one city. Which is why I don't want some stupid fuckin' genie tearing this place up!"

Hakuryuu laughs, even if he probably shouldn't. The whole thing just sounds like a bad action movie setup the more Judal says it. "I know. I'll need you to help me into the room, though."

Judal whines but gets up anyway, leaving his book on the chair. "I can teach you how to get back into it, since I don't wanna have to deal with this shit any time they get hungry. Come on!"

They head back down the halls, taking different twists and turns until they've ended up at the now empty space on the wall. Judal takes out his wand and looks at Hakuryuu expectantly. "You wanna learn or what?"

"Of course," he says, pulling out his own wand. Judal grins and takes his hand, helping him draw quick sigils in the air. It feels _heavy_ and like Judal, and he's not sure how he's going to recreate something that is so obviously Judal's own creation. But runes flash on the wall when he taps it with his wand, and the door reappears.

"See? No problem!" Judal says casually.

"I'm not sure how well I'll be able to do it without your help, but I'll certainly try-" Hakuryuu tries to say, but Judal cuts him off.

"Don't be such a Negative Nancy, Hakuryuu. This is probably more in line with your skills than mine, so you'll be fine," he says, before turning to lean. "These guys are all your problem, though."

That sounds about right. Judal's completely uninterested in helping with them, but that's understandable. He's got no actual stake in making sure they survive, and he's honestly surprised Judal hasn't tried to force some sort of payment out of Alibaba at the very least. "You're oddly complimentary today."

Judal shrugs, on his way down the hall already. "Don't get too used to it! Or keep being good at shit, either works I guess."

Hakuryuu doesn't answer him. Instead, he heads into the room to see what Alibaba and Cassim what to eat. He can at least play nice host while Judal is getting some actually important work done.

Cassim is lounging in a different chair now, a phone in his hands. He's pretty sure that it's Alibaba's phone, since he's staring out one of the windows sadly. They both look up when he comes in and Hakuryuu is almost stunned by the anger on Cassim's face. He should be _grateful_ that Judal is helping him out instead of turning him out on streets for the police to find him again. The look vanishes quickly though, and Cassim gives him what is probably a fake smile. Great.

"Hey, you came back. You gonna let us out of this stupid closet or what?" he asks.

"No," Hakuryuu answers simply. "Didn't you listen to Judal the first time? I'm just here because Alibaba said you two were hungry."

He groans. "Come on, you can't be serious. Alibaba, you said this guy could help us, not that we'd be trapped in some weird storage room," Cassim says accusingly, and Alibaba's face falls until he just looks like an ashamed puppy. It's not a good look for him.

"I mean, you can't really go wandering the streets right now," Alibaba begins, but backs down under Cassim's glare. "I don't think locking us in a tiny room is gonna help, though."

"Judal runs a business, and your face is on every news station right now," Hakuryuu says. He doesn't have to tell them that Judal actually shut the store down for the rest of the day, especially with their attitude. "Do you want food or not?"

"I want food!" Alibaba says enthusiastically. "We never got to do dinner together, you know."

Hakuryuu raises an eyebrow. "That's because strangers broke into your house and killed someone, and then you and Aladdin seemed offended that Judal actually knew how to fix the problem."

At least Alibaba has the decency to look kind of embarrassed. "Haha, yeah, I guess that did happen," he says sheepishly. "It was super messed up though! How did you take that so well?"

Cassim looks embarrassed for Alibaba and a little bit surprised. "Shit, there was a murder at your place? Maybe I shouldn't have tried to get your help. I just figured you wouldn't want to let me down."

No wonder Judal didn't want to help. Hakuryuu feels like he's being purposefully ignored while Cassim has whatever conversation he feels like, and Alibaba just follows along. He's used to being the third wheel, but they _asked_ him to help them and now they just don't care. It's just plain ungrateful. He didn't come here to listen to them bicker about whether or not it's a good idea to stay here under Judal's roof.

"If you don't actually want anything to eat, I'll go," Hakuryuu finally snaps, interrupting their petty argument. Alibaba and Cassim fall silent, surprisingly. Good.

"Sorry," Alibaba says awkwardly. "We still want food."

At least they're listening now. "Judal doesn't have much food here, so I was going to order something. Do you want anything in specific?"

"Uh, I guess pizza could be could? That sounds easy," Alibaba answers, and Cassim doesn't disagree. That's good enough for Hakuryuu.  
"I'll be back when it arrives," he says shortly, leaving before either of them can start complaining again. He'll just text Alibaba for what toppings they'd like.

Hakuryuu stares the door down. He knows he has to put it away because Cassim is not going to stay put otherwise, but he's not sure he can recreate what Judal showed him. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, gripping his wand tightly. He can feel the magic in the air; nothing is ever truly quiet anymore. If he focuses enough he'll be able to pull out this specific spell, but everything just feels so deeply, intimately of Judal here that it's a challenge.

That's alright. He'll get it right. There's life magic in everything but especially in anything made of wood and earth, and the whole building is. Even if the room itself is made from Judal's memories, the wall in front of him and the door he's trying to hide aren't, and every inch of the carved, wooden door gives him a hint of what to do. Hakuryuu pulls at the pieces of life magic, coaxing secrets out of them until he can feel and understand every spell they've withstood, and he can pinpoint Judal's distinct magical signature in some of them.

Perfect. He can _definitely_ work with this. Hakuryuu opens his eyes, confidence and power pulsing in his veins, and every flick of his wrist feels so natural, he's not even surprised when the door vanishes under his wand's touch.

Judal was right. This is the sort of thing that he's good at.

x･x･x

"I have no fucking clue how to fix this problem," Judal admits over late night dinner in a fast food parking lot. He's getting chicken nugget crumbs all over the car, but Hakuryuu has given up at this point. He'll just go get the car washed later.

"At all?"

He shakes his head. "Genies are tricky little bastards, kind of like extra finicky leprechauns, since they actually grant specific wishes. So like. I can't find any advice and I've never actually had to deal with one myself."

Hakuryuu nods, considering this. Alibaba caused this problem but it's gotten out of his control now, so even if they didn't know him personally, they'd still probably have to deal with the consequences. "Perhaps we could ask Zagan."

"Fuck that," Judal snaps, almost flinging a frenchy fry out the window. "He's gonna try to collect on all these favors I keep asking him for, even if he never actually helps me."

"Sorry."

"Nah, he probably doesn't know anyway," Judal says apologetically. "He's antisocial and just deals with whatever falls in his way. Like, he might know someone who knows something, but I'm not getting wrapped up in some sort of matryoshka of fae bullshit just because Alibooba wanted to recreate a Disney movie."

Hakuryuu snorts, almost getting iced tea up his nose. "Judal."

"I'm not _wrong_ ," he says petulantly, and Hakuryuu ruffles his hair affectionately.

"I didn't say you were. What do you want to do next? Because I don't think you want to keep Alibaba and Cassim in the shop indefinitely."

Judal groans and digs into his bag for the last remaining fries. "I don't. His friend is annoying, and he's just, I dunno, too fucking cheery. I don't like it!" Hakuryuu offers him some more fries and Judal snatches them up gratefully. "So my current plan is take the lamp, find the genie, and just keep hitting it until it breaks."

"That's not a great plan."

"You got anything better? 'Cause I'm all ears!" Judal says, stealing a few more of Hakuryuu's fries.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have anything else in mind, so he just shakes his head. Judal seems to have gotten through life with this method, so he's hoping it will work again.


	22. Chapter 22

hello yes I'm sorry for almost being late on this but the first draft was a hot mess from being written during NaNoWriMo! as always thank you to **dragonofeternal** for massive help with editing this beast :D

* * *

Hakuryuu wakes up the next morning and shoots Aladdin a text to let him know he'll be coming over to get something for Alibaba. He's hoping that Alibaba will back him up if questioned, but even if he doesn't, he should be able to get into his apartment and get the lamp before anyone's the wiser. Judal gave him a key that claims to open any non-magical lock, so as long as Aladdin hasn't put some sort of protective spell on the door, he should be able to get in.

Luckily, Aladdin is already at class when he gets to their apartment. It's been cleaned up since the murder, which is a good sign. It looked pretty terrible. The lock clicks open without a fuss, and Hakuryuu tucks the key away for later. Judal never specifically said he had to give it back when he was done with it.

The magic in the room doesn't feel much more oppressive than last time, but it's _everywhere_ , and now that he's felt it again, Hakuryuu can tell that Alibaba reeks of it. They're probably going to have to pull spells out of him later. Thankfully he's taken this whole magic being real thing well, to the point that Hakuryuu has the feeling that Aladdin had a talk with him.

The lamp is sitting on a shelf, looking for all the world like an innocent trinket being used for decoration. He knows better. He lifts it with magic and drops it into a thick bag, careful not to touch it. He's not getting cursed again. He's learned his lesson.

Hakuryuu locks up behind him and puts the bag in the passenger seat. He doesn't want to let it too far out of his sight, just in case. He texts Judal his status and gets on the road, intent to get this into Judal's hands as quickly as possible.

It feels wrong in his car, different than how the pottery felt, different from other cursed things they've picked up. Those other cursed items were like single-celled microbes; the genie's lamp feels as complex as a living, breathing person. He shudders, gripping the wheel. Hakuryuu wishes that Alibaba lived closer. Or perhaps that Judal had come along so they could just use one of his teleportation spells to get home.

The lamp stays by his side the whole trip, and despite how uneasy it makes him feel, the drive passes without incident. Hakuryuu worries that perhaps he's being paranoid, but it's still better safe than sorry.

"Look at that, picking up my messes for me," Judal says cheekily. He's leaning against the front door with a mug of coffee in his hands, dressed comfortably instead of flashy for once. Hakuryuu is filled with the overwhelming sense of how in tune he is with Judal's moods, just from looking at what he's wearing, and the strangest part is how natural it feels. He didn't plan this. He didn't _try_ to make Judal such an important part of his life, but here they are.

"I wish you'd come along," Hakuryuu tells him honestly. "I don't like being around this alone."

Judal's cheeks flush but he tries to play it off casually. "I dunno, you're pretty good at dealing with cursed shit now. I feel like I've trained you well."

Hakuryuu nods. "I still don't like this in particular. Its aura feels like it will stick to anything it touches."

"So did you notice that Cassim is covered in shit, too?" Judal asks, opening the door for them and locking it behind him. Apparently they're going to be closed again today. That's probably for the best.

"Of course I did. Here I thought you weren't paying attention," he teases, setting the bag on the desk in the office. Judal laughs at him but his expression turns serious when he prods it with his wand. There's a long, tense silence, until Judal turns to look at him.

"So uh, good news and bad news," he begins, and Hakuryuu frowns deeply. There is no way this is going to go well. Judal doesn't continue though, an awkward smile just frozen on his face like that's going to make things better.

"Yes?" Hakuryuu finally says, trying to prod him along. He doesn't usually have to drag things out of Judal, not like this.

"Well, good news is that the genie can't hurt us immediately," he says cheerfully. "Bad news is the genie isn't _actually_ in this lamp anymore. And I dunno where it is."

Hakuryuu stares at him, stunned speechless for a moment. "Judal, that is terrible news."

"Yeah. Yeah, I dunno what else to tell you, except- Oh, I know. We could just pretend it's not our problem anymore," Judal suggests, and for a second, Hakuryuu actually thinks he's being serious. But he knows better. Judal plays like he doesn't give a shit about anyone, but he wouldn't actually leave a dangerous problem loose for someone else to deal with.

"Or we could find it and fight it," Hakuryuu tells him. "That way it won't end in any damage to the shop or your home."

Judal rolls his eyes but doesn't disagree. "I _guess_. Gonna feed your pets before we go hunting?"

"Don't call Alibaba and Cassim that. It makes it sound dirty," he says, making a face. "It's weird."

He laughs at Hakuryuu. "You're the pervert who took it that way! Just chuck some donuts in there or something while I get better clothes on."

Hakuryuu doesn't bother to answer him, instead heading back out to his car to get the groceries he picked up for Alibaba and Cassim. It's mostly non-perishables, but Cassim also insisted on a pack of cigarettes and somehow he got roped into buying it. He had better not burn the place down with them.

This time the door comes naturally; it's second nature, just like many parts of Judal's shop have become to him. Hakuryuu hesitates for a moment, lost in thought. Judal gave him the nebulous concept of a few hundred years of service, and he hadn't taken it seriously at the time. But now he knows that Judal is old enough that he'll still be around in that time, he's starting to wonder if he actually _will_ be stuck here that long, and what will happen if he's ever free of serving Judal. Will he even have to worry about maintaining friendships if they're going to grow old while he's here looking youthful with Judal?

Maybe now isn't the best time to be overthinking all of this. He has a task to accomplish and then an evil genie to deal with, which isn't exactly where he expected his life to be. But it's happening and he at least has some ideas for how to take care of it.

Hakuryuu opens the door and there's a sudden hushed silence, like he's walking into some sort of discussion or argument that he isn't supposed to be privy to. Alibaba looks uncomfortable and Cassim is casually smoking out one of the windows, but Alibaba quickly forces a smile on his face.

"Hey, Hakuryuu! Good morning, right?" he says quickly.

"Yes. I brought food," he says, lifting one of the bags to show them. He's not going to draw attention to whatever discussion they were having; he's not here to pry. Judal would, but Judal has no sense of personal space or privacy.

"Ah, thank you," he says, taking the bags from Hakuryuu. "Oh, you got uh, bread and peanut butter?"

"It's very self stable and long lasting."

"Uh. Thanks?"

Hakuryuu tries to smile but settles on a terse nod. "You're welcome. Judal and I are going out today to track down the genie."

Alibaba glances up from the bag of food he's looking through. "I thought you were gonna get the lamp from my apartment."

"I did. The genie isn't in it anymore," Hakuryuu explains tensely.

"Oh."

Cassim looks over at them. "You know you sound like fucking retards talking about magic and genies like it's something that happens so simply, right?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you have another explanation for what you've seen? If you want to stay willfully ignorant and disbelieve whatever is in front of you, that's your own business, but frankly, it's stupid," Hakuryuu snaps. "Neither Judal or I _have_ to help you, and I personally think you belong in the prison you broke out of. So you should try being grateful before one of us loses our patience."

He flicks his cigarette out the window and turns to face Hakuryuu properly. Gone is any sort of false friendliness, replaced with the sharp look of someone who thinks he's the most important and powerful man in the room. "Look, you really expect me to believe that you and your scrawny friend can do that much to me? Flashy sleight of hand isn't scary."

He's not here to fight with Cassim. He's here to drop off food and leave, and save all his energy for dealing with the genie. But there's just something in his attitude that sets Hakuryuu off: maybe it's the unwillingness to believe what's going on or his refusal to take anything seriously, but it's too much to just sit quietly and take. He's learned that he doesn't have to be the quiet, polite man who never objects.

Hakuryuu doesn't practice offensive magic, not the way Judal does, but he's learned enough. He flicks his wand towards Cassim and even though there's no plants in this room, nothing but dead air drawing on old memories, he pulls vines out of nothing and drags him to the floor. Alibaba jerks towards him while Cassim swears and struggles, but Hakuryuu's already done wasting time on them.

"I don't have to put up with your attitude," he says in parting and slams the door behind him, twisting sigils and power to lock it away. It might not have been as bombastic or nasty as Judal would have been, but standing his ground with such force still leaves him shaken.

It's okay. He's got this. He'll just go find Judal and get out of here to go after the genie who deserves it more, rather than Alibaba's mouthy friend.

Judal is sitting at the front counter tapping at his phone, but he looks up excitedly when Hakuryuu comes back. "Hey, you're back! Ready to- shit, you look shaken up. What happened? Do I have to beat someone up?"

"It's nothing," Hakuryuu tries to say calmly. "Let's get going."

"Whoa, whoa, you are a terrible liar. What's actually wrong?" Judal asks, pulling at Hakuryuu's arm in concern. His bright expression is now worried and soft, and Hakuryuu feels himself giving in without meaning to.

"I had a small disagreement with Cassim and I may have lost my temper slightly," he admits. "It's not a big deal. I'd rather get on with the day."

Judal doesn't stop him from leaving the shop at least and follows him to the car without any more complaints, the bag with the lamp in it tucked under his arm. But once he's settled in the car, he opens his mouth again. "Here I thought you never lost your cool. What did he do, piss on your dead brothers' graves or something?"

Hakuryuu is glad he hasn't started the car yet. "Do you think before you talk?"

"Not really, no."

He sighs. "He's just obstinate and refuses to believe what he sees around him. He tried to tell me I was an idiot for acting like magic and genies were real things that existed."

Judal seems unperturbed. "Yeah, a lot of people feel that way. It's pretty common to just, I dunno, not wanna admit that there's this whole layer to the world you never knew before. I'm kinda surprised you took everything as well as you did."

"I- I guess it just seemed natural, once I saw it happening," Hakuryuu says, thinking back. It seemed impossible at first, but he couldn't argue with the truth. What else could have possibly explained what was happening to him? "I don't understand how anyone could see magic with their own eyes and still refuse to believe its existence."

"Some people just don't wanna see what they don't wanna see. I'm sure you've met someone like that before," Judal says, staring out the window. They're driving aimlessly right now, vaguely out of the city towards where Judal is _hoping_ the genie is holed up, but they don't have anything more concrete than that.

Hakuryuu's breath catches in his throat as he thinks of his sister and the disagreements they've had, and the awkward truce they've sort of formed where they don't talk about things that make them uncomfortable. She won't believe what's right in front of them about their mother and their past, despite everything Hakuryuu has tried to explain, and he doesn't want to think about how much that still hurts. "I have," he says simply, turning onto the expressway, and Judal doesn't question him further.

It's almost fall but the heat is still clinging, heavy and desperate, and they drive with the windows down despite the discomfort. Judal insists on it and Hakuryuu doesn't have the heart to tell him no.

"This is so fucking stupid," Judal suddenly shouts, breaking the silence. "I hate it! I keep trying to track this fucker but it won't lead me anywhere else because I've got the lamp with us, so I have no idea where we're actually supposed to go."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm gonna train you to track bullshit next, 'cause I feel like you'll take to it pretty well. It's like, a cousin of the magic for making the door vanish and shit, and you picked that up quickly," he explains. "Ugh. Maybe I can figure it out some other way."

Hakuryuu keeps driving, trying to think. "We should still head out of town. I think we'll have better luck away from the mess of the city."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just fussy, you know?"

"I know. Do you want something to eat?"

Judal shakes his head. "That's not it, but thanks anyway. You're a real thoughtful guy sometimes."

Hakuryuu gives him a sideways glance. "If you say so."

"I do! Ohhh, take that exit," Judal says suddenly, gesturing to the far left. Hakuryuu slams on his breaks, flips on his turn signal, and weaves to the side. They just barely make it, and Hakuryuu has to resist sighing heavily in relief when he pulls onto the exit ramp without getting clipped. He hates having to cut across so many lanes of traffic like this.

"Please tell me this was actually necessary for something."

"Yeah, I have a good feeling about going this way," he explains, directing Hakuryuu through back streets out of the city until they drive past a small park, tucked in between some rundown rowhouses and a block of abandoned store fronts. They almost drive past it, but something catches Judal's eye, and he screeches. "Stop!"

Hakuryuu slams on the brakes, silently grateful that they're on an empty street. His driving luck is going to run out very soon if Judal keeps this shit up. "What is it?"

"We gotta go in there," Judal says, pointing at the park. "Just, I dunno, park somewhere? It's in there."

He loops around the block and parks in front of the park's entrance, checking to make sure he's not going to get towed or ticketed for leaving his car here. The parking spot looks good, unlike the neighborhood and whatever is hiding inside the park itself. Judal grabs the bag with the lamp in it and clambers out of the car quickly, impatient and ready to go already.

"Come on!" he whines. "No one's gonna take your car."

"Well, it looks like an unsafe neighborhood, and I don't want to break some sort of parking law," Hakuryuu says evenly. He's trying to keep his nerves under control. This sounds like it will be harder to deal with then the ghost - where he did absolutely nothing during, except get Judal's wand back to him - and maybe on par with the Barren Neotoma - where his only skill was figuring out they could curse it. He's practiced since, and Zagan's wand has helped, but he still feels like he's just here to drive Judal to the action and then stand aside so he doesn't get in the way. He doesn't blame Judal for it, either. He knows he's second rate in comparison.

Judal walks into the park without fear, glancing around. Well, no time to keep beating himself up. Judal has already decided it's time to get to work.


	23. Chapter 23

yikes I really need to start budgeting my time better because editing always takes me way longer than I expect D: sorry friends! I'll try to get to it sooner next week, I promise ;w;

anyway! enjoy some magic fucking bullshit when they ~finally~ find the genie! ;D

* * *

"Hey, genie fucker! Where are you?"

"Judal, there could still be people here," Hakuryuu tries to say, but Judal waves him off. He watches as Judal strides into the park, heedless of danger or anything else. Fine, he'll run the perimeter check while Judal does his own thing. Hakuryuu reaches out with magic, searching. He can feel the comfortable, familiar pulse of life from the grass and trees around him, and he keeps looking. He blocks out Judal as he tries to find anyone else who might be wandering around, and nothing but silence meets him. There aren't even birds or squirrels running around. That can't be good.

He goes to warn Judal and groans. He's already out of sight, of course; he's far too impatient to sit still and wait for anything. "Judal?"

"I'm up!" he says, and Hakuryuu looks up to see him perched on his staff. "I thought I'd get a better view from here."

"You're lucky there's no one else here," he chides. "But there's nothing here, Judal. Not even animals."

He pulls a face. "Yeah, that's bad," he declares, and hops off his staff. He grips it in one hand and drops to the ground, landing in front of Hakuryuu gracefully. "I guess we should be careful."

"That's what I've been trying to say," Hakuryuu says softly. If there's one drawback to becoming more in tune with magic, it's how sensitive it makes him to the flow of energy around him. The lamp is trying desperately to reconnect with its lost genie, and the magic reaching out of it is giving Hakuryuu a headache.

"I know. Man, I hate all these creepy abandoned places we've had to muck around in. Like, it makes it easier to hide whatever magical bullshit mess is going down, but it ends up making it all weird and shit," Judal says, kicking a stone off the path they're following. It sounds hollow as it bounces in the grass, which is unsettling. "Maybe someday I want to be like a badass superhero and save the world when everyone's watching."

"Don't lie. You don't want that much attention."

Judal laughs loudly, clutching his staff to support himself. "Yeah, you're right. I'd have to talk to all those people! Totally gross." Something shuffles through the trees to their left and Judal grins widely. "You ready to kick some ass?"

"I'm not really sure how-"

Judal cackles and launches off an ice spear, splintering trees apart and freezing the area around of it. There's a beat of silence and then a sudden blast that levels the rest of the trees. Judal throws a barrier around them and drags Hakuryuu back. "Found it! Time to go to town!"

Hakuryuu grabs the bag with the lamp in it when Judal drops it to shoot up in the air. He rains down black lightning gleefully, and the whole area resonates with magic. When Judal goes all out, he's an impressive force to experience, but Hakuryuu has other things to focus on: finding a backup solution if Judal's power doesn't solve the problem for them.

There's a rumbling and thick, dark smog spills across the wrecked ground,spiraling up after Judal. He flits away, throwing spells at it the whole time, but his ice spears just sail through the billowing smoke without doing anything to stop it.

For now, Hakuryuu tries to stay out of the way. Judal is distracting the genie; he's bright and loud, and Hakuryuu is going to take advantage of this while he can. It's not like he'll be able to do anything against it if it turns its attention to him, and he can't fly away like Judal can.

He takes the lamp and runs for now, watching the fight in the air. None of Judal's magic seems to be able to hit it though, and the genie doesn't have any interest in taking a more physical form. Why should it? At this rate, Judal is going to tire out before he does any lasting damage, and Doing more than hitting things as hard as possible isn't exactly Judal's strong point. Hakuryuu watches as more spears of ice and energy sail ineffectually through the smoke and decides to figure it out on his own. He's never worked with fog before, but he's been able to affect the microbes in the air. Maybe he can mess with whatever is keeping it in this form.

He doesn't know for sure how magical gases work, but he knows how regular ones do: get them cold enough and they condense back into a more solid form. Maybe he can do something with that. He's watched Judal fling his ice spears around enough to understand the basic concepts of how to make things freeze; this is just on a larger scale, focusing on a creature's magical essence instead of just water in the air. Zagan's wand quivers in his hand as he draws it through the motions, trying to cast his mental net wide enough to ensnare all the smoke. The genie realizes what's happening too late, and the smoke curdles into a twisted, angry form.

Judal whoops happily, and the wind picks up around him. Ice spins into giant dragons that twist around the genie, gnashing at it and freezing bits of it. The genie swats at one with the back of its hand, and it shatters into glittering splinters. The other wraps around its arm, trying to stop it from moving anymore, but it just shakes the attack off and rears back its fist. Judal's so caught up in controlling his spell that he doesn't have time to react as the genie's fist collides with his face. He crumples and falls off his staff, and the staff hangs for a moment before plummeting after him.

Damn it.

Hakuryuu runs, wind and magic on his heels, even though he knows he'll never get under Judal fast enough to catch him. He knows it's stupidly futile, that he won't even be able to do anything, but anger and impulse drives him faster until he hears the wind whistling in his ears as his feet leave the ground in actual, honest-to-god flight that pushes him that last bit he needs, Judal lands on him with a sickening crack that knocks the wind out of him. They go crashing against the ground, and Hakuryuu barely has a chance to cushion their fall with leaves and vines and whatever microbes he can pull out of the air, and they land with less damage than he expected. Hakuryuu gropes Judal ineffectively, and finds that while he isn't moving, he is still breathing. That's good.

Everything aches from the force of catching Judal, but Hakuryuu doesn't think anything is broken. Not in his body, at least. He'll have to check over Judal. The genie is ignoring them for now, probably because they were both incredibly stupid and unlikely to survive. That should buy them a few minutes.

Judal groans. "Shit fucking nipples, everything hurts," he says. His voice is strained but if he's whining that's probably a good sign. "Hakuryuu?"

"Yeah?"

"You're a fucking idiot," he says. "Thanks for saving my sorry ass."

"Please sit still and let me continue to save it," Hakuryuu says, running his hands over Judal lightly. He wishes he could move but he doesn't want to risk breaking anything further, so he'll have to make it work despite the awkward angle. Miraculously, nothing feels broken, just strained and shaken up, and he shakes his head. "I can't believe you didn't break anything."

"I'm pretty much amazing," Judal tells him proudly, wheezing on his next breath. "But also I'm sturdier than your regular fucker, duh. Though-" he says, cutting himself off to try to recover some. "Though are you really sure nothing is broken?"

Hakuryuu nods. "You might have some internal bleeding or something from the impact, but you somehow managed to avoid breaking any bones."

Judal rolls off of him, whining the whole time. "But I'm still in so much pain! This is bullshit."

"You did fall from pretty high up. Internal bleeding would be painful, too," Hakuryuu points out, pushing off the ground delicately. He's sore from Judal landing on him and hitting the ground, but their fall was cushioned pretty well. It could be a lot worse.

"It's still bullshit! I don't like it," he says. Hakuryuu offers him a hand up and Judal takes it, before glancing around. "Where'd my wand end up?"

"I'm not sure. It fell when you did," he says.

Judal groans, ready to run off and look for it. "Of course it did."

Hakuryuu grabs his hand and holds him back. "If you could wait for a minute, I'll see if I can patch you up. I've been practicing."

Judal actually stops, looking surprised and a little touched. "You're too kind." Judal stands still while Hakuryuu runs his hands over him again, trying to knit together every cut and bruise he finds until Judal feels far more whole. It's odd; he's obviously human but healing him takes much less time and energy than expected. It probably has something to do with however he's kept himself alive for this long. He flexes when Hakuryuu finishes and grins. "Shit, you've gotten pretty good at this. Thanks!"

"This doesn't give you an excuse to be more reckless," he chides, but Judal is already gone, off to find his wand and get revenge for being punched to the ground. Hakuryuu has learned his lesson already: be prepared for Judal to fight without holding back, which means being the backup when that bites him in the ass. He dusts himself off and takes off after Judal.

At least the genie is still in physical form. It hasn't figured out how to revert what Hakuryuu did to it, so Judal is able to hit it with magic. Even if it doesn't do much, it's better than nothing. Everything they read warned them that genies are nearly unstoppable once they're loose, and dealing with a corrupted one is even worse. They really needed some sort of plan besides "Judal hits it really hard," but they were both hoping that somehow it would work for them.

There has to be something else they can do. Unfortunately, the middle of a fight is quite possibly the worst time to try to come up with elaborate plans.

Judal almost gets hit again but this time he manages to roll with it and flies under the genie instead, cackling the whole time. He's trying to goad it into going after him even more because he's stupid and reckless, and it's so frustrating, Hakuryuu wants to scream. He's going to tire out long before the genie does. He can watch as Judal's reactions get slower and the genies blows come closer and closer to sending him flying again. Judal zips to and fro, but his movement is jerky, choppy. He's starting to look worn down while the genie seems no worse for wear, but Hakuryuu can feel the beginnings of a plan in the back of his mind. He's okay with Judal being the brute magical strength if it buys him time so he can come up with plans to put it to good use. He remembers a couple different methods of binding genies to items, so at least one of them should work. And if he can do that, he has a one step plan to make it more permanent.

"Judal!" he calls out, and Judal comes spiraling out of the air to land next to him. If only he listened this well regularly.

He wipes some sweat from his face and gives Hakuryuu a tired looking smile. "What's up?"

"I have an idea, but I need to ask you something first," he says, lowering his voice. "Where does the door go, or really anything from that spell, when it vanishes?"

Judal's face twists in confusion as he mulls over his answer. "Nowhere, basically? Why?"

He hasn't picked up on what the plan is yet. Oh, well. Hakuryuu can explain it more simply if he has to. "We should send the lamp there."

Realization dawns on Judal and his expression brightens, before it falls again. "I mean, I love that plan, I'm all about thinking outside the box and how you keep coming up with solutions to my problems, but that shit works because I've built it into the magic of the area. We'd have to do all the preparations for it before casting it, and it's kinda intense."

"That's fine. Do you think I can do it? If not, I guess I can act as bait while you're setting it up," Hakuryuu says, trying to outline all the steps in his head. He's not as sturdy as Judal or quite as fast, but he could probably distract the genie without getting too injured, as long as it's not a very long process.

"Uh. I dunno if this is gonna work," Judal admits. "Like, it's a lot of shit. It took me ages to get it right."

"But that was with trial and error, right?" Hakuryuu asks, trying to clarify, but Judal grabs him and flies them up before he can answer. There's a smoldering crater where they just were, and Hakuryuu winces.

"Yeah, you're gonna have to do it. I don't have any other ideas and you're quicker at that sort of finicky shit than I've ever been," Judal says, taking Hakuryuu back down to safe ground. "It's just like, ugh, I can't explain it, but you just-" He stops suddenly, gesturing wildly like his hand motions are going to somehow explain the incredibly complex spell they're discussing, before sighing loudly. "Just take the spell apart and think about what it's reacting to, you know?"

Hakuryuu nods slowly. He doesn't know. But he's going to have to figure it out anyway, so he may as well agree. "I can try," he says honestly, and Judal gives him a thumbs up before zipping off to distract the genie again.

He has the lamp, his wand, and the knowledge that he can do at least one part of this spell. Judal's lack of faith in it isn't very reassuring but he's going to at least try to make it work. Hakuryuu ducks behind one of the remaining trees for cover and closes his eyes, thinking about everything that makes the spell work. It's like working with a riddle that's missing half the clues and the other half are useless without the missing ones. But he's going to do it, and hopefully before Judal gets himself injured in new and horrifying ways.

There's magic in the air, trying to distract him, but Hakuryuu does his best to block it out and take himself back to Judal showing him the sigils to draw, to when he figured out how to do it himself, and to how quickly it became like second nature. It fits into the magic of Judal's shop perfectly but he knows, he knows there has to be a way to pluck it out of its current environment and make it work somewhere else.

Once, twice, three times now he's turned it over in his mind, pulling at the pieces like Judal suggested, until finally, finally when he almost thinks he's exhausted all his options it clicks into place. Hakuryuu can't help but grin in satisfaction. This is it. This can work.

He runs back to where Judal and the genie are throwing magic back and forth like it's a morbid game that they're both intent on winning. Each blast is massive, enough to kill a man in an instant, and he can only pray Judal keeps the attention on himself without nearly dying again. He just needs a little more time to put this spell together. Hakuryuu's found that he works best with nature, and so he draws on the magic in the dirt beneath his feet and the stray strands of grass that remain, feeling them pulse as he borrows their power to work something foreign into it before giving it back, carving invisible sigils in them to ground what he's working on. He doesn't need a large area, just enough to put the lamp on. Theoretically he could do this to the lamp itself, but it's so much easier to work his magic this way.

The wind rustles his hair and he looks up to see Judal flying by, so low to the ground that Hakuryuu guesses he fell again and just barely managed to catch himself, and he forces himself not to rush his spells. He has to get this right on the first try.

Hakuryuu sets the lamp on the prepared ground and its magic resists everything he's trying to do; it doesn't want to be bound to anything but the genie that belongs inside it. That's too bad, though. He rips through layers of protective spells to get to its core, forcing his own power into it until he's tied it to the vague emptiness that Judal uses. He doesn't touch any of the spells related to the genie. They'll need those to get it back in the lamp.

Satisfied with his work, Hakuryuu takes a deep breath. He feels tired already but he can push through; giving up now isn't an option. He grabs the lamp again and looks to the skies in time to see Judal launch an ice spear at the genie while flying away quickly, probably to avoid a counterattack of some sort.

"Judal!" he yells, hoping that luck will be on his side and Judal will actually listen to him again. Instead, there's a terrible crash as the ice shatters and turns back at Judal, sharp as daggers. Apparently he's going to have to drag the genie back into the lamp, too.

He can do this. He's exhausted, but he can do this. Hakuryuu holds the lamp tightly and tries to pull the genie back that way, but he's unsurprised when it doesn't work. Of course the most simple method wouldn't do anything. He feels the rush of power in his hands and it almost makes him want to wish on it, wish that it would go back in on its own, and he has to shake his head to clear the urges. It's too tempting.

Judal lands in front of him, looking much rougher than before. "Hey, I thought I heard you calling me, but I was trying to outrun some fucking bullshit."

"I was. Can you get the genie into the lamp?" Hakuryuu asks, and Judal's eyes light up.

"Probably! I'm tired of toying around with this asshole anyway," he says, snatching the lamp out of Hakuryuu's hands and flying off again.

Judal makes it look so easy, but in a way it makes sense. This is flashier and less about thoughtful planning and more about just using as much power as possible to make it happen. Judal is practically glowing as he floods the air around him with magic.

"Hey, fuckwit! You ready to get back in your cramped tiny home?" he taunts. "Too bad! I'm tired of you!"

There's a horrible noise, like a cacophony of screams twisted together, as the genie gets drawn back into its lamp. Hakuryuu can see it struggling but this time, Judal is stronger, relying on his own skill and the genie's bond to the lamp, until it's finally trapped back inside. Judal heads back his way, tossing the lamp to Hakuryuu when he gets close.

"Got it!" he says proudly. "You gonna take it from here?"

Hakuryuu nods. "I think this should work."

Judal is leaning on his staff for support, but he manages a confident smirk anyway. "If you're too tired I can take over, you know."

"I don't think you'll do as well as me," Hakuryuu points out, carefully placing the lamp in the prepared area. "I planned this very specifically, and to explain it to you-"

"Yeah, I know, you got it under control," he interrupts, waving a hand. "Don't let me stop you."

Hakuryuu doesn't answer him again. He's got work to do. He closes his eyes, since he's found it to be the easiest way to begin this sort of spell, and takes a deep breath as he blocks out everything that isn't important to what he's about to do. He can feel the twisted anger of the genie trying to claw its way back out of the lamp, but that's inconsequential. He'll have it out of here before it can get that far.

He flicks his wand forward, drawing the sigils he'll need in the air quickly and precisely, until he taps the lamp with his wand. For a second he's afraid it didn't work, that he messed something up along the way, but then it vanishes without a trace.

Judal whoops with laughter from behind him and it pulls him out of the quiet zone he was in. "You did it!" Judal tells him proudly. "Shit, I better never piss you off at the wrong time."

"I'm sure it would work much differently with humans," Hakuryuu assures him and Judal just shakes his head.

"That was fucking awesome," Judal insists.

"Thank you," Hakuryuu says. Now that the adrenaline rush is over, he's not feeling so great. He'd really like to sit down and maybe take a small nap. Perhaps even a long nap, depending on how relaxed he feels in bed.

"Heyyy, Hakuryuu, you still listening?" Judal asks, waving a hand in front of his face. Hakuryuu jumps a little. Did he zone out? Did Judal ask him something and he missed it?

He nods slowly. "I'm just feeling kind of tired," he admits.

"No shit! You did a fuck ton of super impressive magic! Not everyone can do all that without getting exhausted," he explains, throwing an arm around Hakuryuu's shoulders. "You're really good at thinking things out, you know?"

Hakuryuu starts the walk back to the car, every step feeling like he's walking through mud. He's trying not to think about the disaster they've left the park, but it's not like they can fix it easily. It will have to just be some sort of unexplained phenomena. "I try to make plans that put your power to good use by actually giving it direction."

"Wow, rude," he says, laughing the whole time. Conversation trails off as Hakuryuu has to spend all his energy staying upright. He's going to have a talk with Judal later about this. He wants to be able to do more complicated magic without feeling like this afterwards.

When they reach the car, Judal gives him a concerned look. "Are you really up to driving? You look beat."

"Of course. It's not like you can drive," he says, before pausing. "Can you drive?"

"I have a license," Judal tells him without any implication that he's actually decent at driving. That's worrying.

"Having a license doesn't mean you're good at it. You don't have a car."

He shrugs. "So I haven't practiced in a couple decades. How hard could it be?"

Hakuryuu thinks about the choices he's made and what else he could do, before handing his keys over to Judal reluctantly. "Please don't kill us in a fiery car crash."

He takes them with a wink. "No promises!"

x･x･x

Judal manages to park with less difficulty than Hakuryuu expected, and he has never been so excited to get out of a car. At least he's feeling much more awake now. Judal's driving is like visiting a completely unregulated amusement park and taking your chances on every ride in the park before vomiting behind the port-a-potties, and he never wants to risk his life experiencing it again.

"Ha, that was fun!" Judal exclaims once he's out of the car, twirling the keys around a finger. "We should do this more often."

"Give me those," Hakuryuu says, holding out his hand expectantly.

Judal frowns but passes them over. "What, you don't like my driving skills?"

"I think I might be ill," he says, and Judal just laughs. He's a terrible boyfriend.

"Whatever, I had fun anyway," he says, but Hakuryuu is barely listening to him. Apparently his sleep-addled brain has decided that he and Judal are actually some sort of official couple, which he's not sure how he feels about. They're close, yes, but are they really at the point where they should consider it dating? He's not sure. He never knows how to handle romantic entanglements properly, and knowing Judal, he'd probably rather they never talk about it.

Judal opens the door to the shop and gives Hakuryuu a strange look. "Man, you are really out of it. I've been talking this whole time and you haven't once told me to shut up."

Hakuryuu jerks out of his thoughts. "I enjoy listening to you talk sometimes," he says, trying to cover up that he really hasn't been listening. He knows he has a reason for it, but he doesn't want Judal to know.

"I can tell when you're actually listening," he says, but he doesn't seem hurt, just concerned. "I probably shoulda driven you home but I didn't really know how to get to your place. I can send you home once I sit down and rest a little if you want, though."

"I'm surprised you're not inviting me to spend the night again," Hakuryuu says, trying to tease, though he thinks it sounds disappointed more than anything. That wasn't his intention.

Judal gives him a tired smile. "That would be easier. but you always seem so put upon when I offer. You have your own little routine and I know I keep messing it up."

"I guess I do, but I'm not upset by you trying to help me."

"Aw, thanks."

"I mean it. I think it's very sweet that you want to help, even if sometimes I feel like you're doing it because you want the company more than anything else," Hakuryuu says, trying to make it better. From Judal's expression, he doesn't think he's doing a good job. "Thank you. For your help."

"I'm gonna offer to let you stay again," Judal says in response. "I asked earlier but I don't think you actually heard what I was saying, so here's my offer: come up, eat my shitty microwave food, and sleep on my crappy futon."

"That's a terrible sounding offer."

"Yeah, I know."

"I'm still going to take you up on it, though," Hakuryuu tells him, and Judal's face lights up. "Maybe not the microwave food part, however. I think I just want to sleep."

Judal shakes his head. "Nah, you gotta eat. It'll help you feel better. Magic burns a bunch of calories, you know? So you'll need the energy!"

Hakuryuu doesn't disagree; he doesn't have the energy to argue. He'll take Judal's word for it as he follows him back out of the shop and up into his apartment. Why didn't they just do this in the first place? Judal may have said something when he wasn't paying attention, but it's also entirely possible that he had some plan that no one else was privy to. Either way, Hakuryuu finds himself looking forward to curling up on Judal's couch with him, even if it's going to involve whatever instant food he has stashed in his kitchen.

"'Kay, you go sit on the couch and I'll find food," Judal instructs him, shooing him away. Hakuryuu nods and follows his instructions, settling into the soft cushions. He knows he should wait for Judal's return, but it won't hurt to rest his eyes for a little. Hakuryuu shuts his eyes, just for a moment, and immediately falls asleep.


	24. Chapter 24

AGGGGHHHHHH I'm so tired of being a few hours late, but it's the week before Christmas and I work in retail hell. so I'm a little wiped from work and just the holidays in general ;w;

however, please enjoy some fluff for your patience! and have a lovely holiday season :D

* * *

Hakuryuu doesn't remember falling asleep on the couch, but he does remember Judal coercing him into his bed and curling up next to him. It's significantly more comfortable than the futon, even if Judal is somehow hogging the covers while still cuddling him aggressively. He feels so rested he almost wonders if he should ask Judal where his bed came from, because he never sleeps this well at home.

Judal is snoring quietly against his throat, and Hakuryuu realizes that there might be another reason he slept so well. He knows he should get up and start his day, but instead he gives into the urge of going back to sleep.

The next time Hakuryuu wakes up, Judal is curled up half on top of him, staring at him. It's unsettling.

"Good morning!" Judal says excitedly.

"Hello, Judal," he says, reaching up to tuck some of Judal's hair behind his ears. His expression brightens even more. "You're very close."

He grins widely. "Watching you sleep. You're cute."

"You're weird. Let me up," Hakuryuu says, and Judal rolls off him begrudgingly. He's in some very skimpy pajamas, looking much more energetic than he usually does first thing in the morning. He's probably been awake for awhile, and finding out that he was watching him sleep should almost definitely worry Hakuryuu more than it does.

He saunters out of the room. "I'm gonna make _you_ breakfast this time," Judal calls over his shoulder.

Hakuryuu smiles softly. He has no idea what Judal is going to come up with, but perhaps they can do brunch somewhere after he's exhausted the food options in his home. He's trying to figure out what to wear, since he doesn't plan on spending the day in his rumpled clothes from yesterday, but he also doesn't think he left any clothing here. Even though he and Judal are similar sizes, he doesn't want to go looking through his clothes without asking.

For now, he settles on suffering through whatever Judal has cooked in his current attire. He can sort it out after they eat.

The kitchen smells like burning but Judal looks happy. "Hey, Hakuryuu. I found that pancake mix you used once," he explains, gesturing at the sad, burning lumps on the stove that must have, at one point, been pancakes.

"Why did you buy it if you didn't know how to use it?"

"I probably thought I was gonna somehow teach myself to cook, one pancake mix at a time," he says, flipping one of the pancakes with a spatula. "Shit, I burnt both sides of this one, too."

He looks over his shoulder to see a pile of rejects in the sink and shakes his head. "Let me help."

Judal passes him the spatula sadly. "I dunno what went wrong."

"Well, you have the heat on high, for one."

"Yeah, 'cause I wanted them to be done quickly," he says innocently.

Hakuryuu tries not to be condescending but really, how did Judal get through life for this long without knowing how to cook? He can't imagine it. "Higher heat will cook the outside faster, but usually it will burn before the inside cooks properly. Especially for how thick these pancakes are. What did you do to the batter?"

"I liked those fluffy ones you made, so I just made the batter thick. You know, kinda fluffy?" he explains, poking the batter to illustrate his point better.

"Thick batter is just going to be thick pancakes that take longer to cook," Hakuryuu says, taking the bowl of batter away from him. "Do you want pancakes, or were you just making them because you couldn't find anything else to make?"

Judal's face twists like he's sucking on a sour fruit, before he finally blows out a breath of air in frustration. "I like pancakes, but yeah, you got me. I haven't been grocery shopping lately 'cause you've been spoiling me with food."

"If I can get something to wear, I was thinking we could go out to a nice brunch," Hakuryuu offers, and he can feel himself smiling as Judal's face lights up.

"That sounds better. Lemme just, you know, get you home for a sec," Judal says, wandering off to presumably get his wand. Hakuryuu takes it upon himself to clean up the mess Judal made trying to make breakfast, rinsing out the bowl and wiping down the stove while he waits.

"You make a good maid," Judal teases, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen.

Hakuryuu shakes his head as he dries his hands. "Just because you don't know how to clean, it doesn't mean it's some sort of task only for menial laborers. I wanted to clean it up before everything stuck together."

"Thanks," he says simply, before drawing a teleportation sigil in front of Hakuryuu. "There you go!"

Magic has become a part of his life, but Judal's casual skill still throws him for a loop sometimes. It's very convenient though, and he'd never complain. Now he can take his time, get some fresh clothes on, and enjoy a leisurely brunch before he convinces Judal it's time to open the store again.

Hakuryuu pulls his phone out of a pocket and glances at it, just in case anyone has been trying to get a hold of him. Apparently, Alibaba has, and it takes a fair amount of self control not to just clear the notifications without looking at his texts.

 **Alibaba:** Hey uh  
 **Alibaba:** Are you ever coming back?  
 **Alibaba:** We've been in here awhile now and we're both kinda antsy  
 **Alibaba:** Cassim especially  
 **Alibaba:** I guess you're dealing with the uh  
 **Alibaba:** Genie  
 **Alibaba:** But I think it's been like a day now

How is _Cassim_ the one who's more antsy about being stuck in a small room? He was in prison. Shouldn't he be used to it by now?

 **Hakuryuu:** We're coming back to the shop today.  
 **Alibaba:** Oh good!  
 **Alibaba:** You're letting us out right?

He has to talk to Judal about this. He's fine with letting Alibaba run loose; he's just oblivious and bad at following directions. But Cassim is an escaped convict, and he's sure the only reason Judal hasn't turned him in yet is because it would be more trouble than it's worth. However, now that they've got the genie taken care of, there's no reason to keep helping Cassim.

Hakuryuu sets his phone down on his dresser while he gets ready. He'll deal with it after he's had time to think and be calm.

"Yo, are you done yet?" Judal calls from his living room, impatient as always.

"Almost," he says. "But you can come in if you'd like. I have to show you something."

"If this is some terrible setup to show me your dick, I'm gonna be so disappointed in you," Judal tells him, but joins him in the bedroom anyway. "Aw, you're dressed."

"...why do you sound disappointed that I'm fully clothed? You just said you didn't want to see anything inappropriate," Hakuryuu points out, handing Judal his phone.

He takes it without question, scrolling through the texts from Alibaba while Hakuryuu gets socks on. "Man, his prison boyfriend is so annoying. I guess we can just let him loose, though. It's not like I want _more_ people bound to serve me."

Hakuryuu takes his phone back as they leave, slipping it back in his pocket. "Here I thought that you would want something like that. You love being the center of attention so much."

"I love being the center of _your_ attention," Judal clarifies, hopping back through the teleportation circle. It closes up after Hakuryuu comes through, leaving them in Judal's kitchen again.

He doesn't have an answer to that. They haven't talked openly about their feelings for each other - beyond that they've developed a close friendship - and Hakuryuu isn't sure how to bring it up. He doesn't think now is the right time for it either, but he's realized that it's probably going to happen eventually. Judal ignores things but no one can do that forever, and he's uncomfortably aware of how much _he_ wants some sort of clarification on how Judal feels about him.

"I should text Alibaba back," Hakuryuu says, cringing at how awkward it sounds.

Judal shrugs. "Yeah, probably. I wanna get something to eat, but I guess that can wait until after we've set a convicted murderer loose on the city."

"Judal-"

"I mean, he is one," he says. "I looked it up and like, shit, I really shouldn't be judging people for whatever they've done with their lives, but he killed all these people in a bank robbery gone wrong. He was leading some sort of, I dunno, cult thing? All about anarchy and shit, and somehow robbing the bank was gonna...help them overthrow the government or something."

Hakuryuu realizes now that maybe he should have asked Alibaba what Cassim had done wrong, even once, instead of getting blindsided by it now. "Alibaba talks about him like he's just misunderstood and keeps ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Sure, if you call coercing people into stealing from their own families to fund his needs a misunderstanding," Judal says. "I'm not gonna sit around and tell you he's a monster or anything, since I'm not that big of a hypocrite, but I don't know what the fuck sunshine boy Alibooba is doing with him."

"They were raised together. Alibaba has told me the story before, but I'm sure he'd love to explain it to you, too."

He makes a disgusted face. "No thank you, I'd rather not let him think we're gonna be friends or something. That's your responsibility."

 **Hakuryuu:** I'm sorry for the late response, but we're coming down now.  
 **Alibaba:** Thanks!  
 **Hakuryuu:** I'm not trying to tell you what to do, Alibaba. But I think you should reconsider what you're going to do with Cassim now.  
 **Alibaba:** What are you talking about?  
 **Alibaba:** I'm not gonna give him up to the cops after all he's been through

Hakuryuu sighs. This isn't going well. He didn't expect it to, but he doesn't know how else to phrase it, nor does he want to say anything in front of Cassim. He knows better than that.

Judal plucks the phone out of his hands. "You look stressed- oh yikes, I see why. Welp, it's not our problem."

"I think it might be partially our responsibility, at least."

"Is it really? Sounds like being friends with Cassim is his own mistake. The genie didn't make them besties out of nowhere," Judal says, unconcerned. Hakuryuu opens his mouth to disagree but thinks better of it; Judal isn't wrong. Sometimes you just have to let your friends fail on their own.

 **Hakuryuu:** I see.  
 **Hakuryuu:** I'm not going to force you to.  
 **Alibaba:** Yeah I hope not  
 **Alibaba:** Judal will let us out right?  
 **Hakuryuu:** Of course. We just have to come down.  
 **Alibaba:** Thanks

There. That's taken care of. Hopefully things will go off without a hitch and there won't be a murdering spree on the news tomorrow, but Hakuryuu has learned that he's not a particularly lucky man.

Judal flounces down the stairs, keys in hand, and Hakuryuu follows him. They'll send Alibaba and Cassim on their way and then open the store, and somehow things will fall back into place until they've settled into their regular rhythm. He feels almost in a trance as he watches Judal unlock the door and lead the way through the winding back rooms. But there it is- the empty space of wall near the hideous chair and the singed painting of ducks. Judal gives Hakuryuu a sideways smile and makes a flourishing sort of "after you" motion.

Hakuryuu sighs and returns the door from the subspace it goes to when not in use. He thinks he sees a proud tinge to Judal's smile, but he's sure it's just in his imagination.

Judal opens the door without fear, only to find an angry Cassim in his face. "What took you guys so long?" he snaps at them and Judal rolls his eyes.

"Maybe I shoulda just left you to eventually wither away and starve in here," he says. "Talk about being ungrateful."

Cassim whirls on Hakuryuu instead. "You wanted to turn me in. How do I know there aren't cops out there?"

"How do you- oh, Alibaba. Thanks for knowing when to keep things to yourself," Hakuryuu says tersely.

Alibaba has the decency to look embarrassed. "I mean, Cassim was using my phone...I thought you knew that."

"I didn't realize he was reading all your texts."

"Haha, well, you know how it goes sometimes," Alibaba says defensively. He looks uncomfortable but stubborn, and Hakuryuu doesn't want to have another fight with him.

Judal sighs loudly. "Alright, we all hate each other for some dumb reason or another, but I don't really care. Everybody out of my shop. Except Hakuryuu, you have to work today."

"Oh, good, we _are_ opening up today."

He ignores Hakuryuu's jab at his inconsistent hours and points at Alibaba. "Lucky for you, your car hasn't been towed yet, but if you ever leave it in front of my store for this long again I'll make sure it's impounded for life," he says before shooing everyone out of the room.

Hakuryuu leads them back to the front of the store, not trusting himself to stay calm if he tries to talk to anyone. This way he doesn't have to. Judal is somehow handling things better than him; it's probably because he doesn't have any actual stake in the anyone else's lives or feelings but his own. It's impressive.

He thinks he sees Cassim swipe something out of the corner of his eye, but Hakuryuu has had to admit that he's gotten biased against him, and that this is probably his brain trying to convince him to hate him even more. He shouldn't let irrational anger rule his thoughts.

"So uh, thanks for all the help," Alibaba says to them awkwardly.

"Don't mention it. And don't ask for it again," Judal tells him shortly. "Out you go!"

Hakuryuu waves as they go, not sure what else he should be doing. This has been one of the worst friendship interactions he's had in awhile, and he can only hope that Alibaba gets the hint and leaves him alone after this.

Judal lets out breath when the door shuts behind Alibaba and Cassim. "I don't want to meet any of your other friends," he gripes.

"I don't have many others," Hakuryuu assures him. "I really am sorry about this mess."

"Still not your fault. I just think it's kinda funny that a polite guy like you has such messed up friends," he says, leaning against the counter. "And ugh, I'm still hungry! You promised me food."

"I can still take you out to eat," he tells Judal. "Or order something, if you want to open-"

"Nope," he cuts in. "I wanna go out and not think about work."

Hakuryuu offers him a hand and Judal takes it, grinning triumphantly. "Someday I will make some set hours for this place and force you to stick to them."

"But you haven't yet," Judal shoots back, locking the door behind him. "I think I do want pancakes now, so we gotta find somewhere that does breakfast food this late."

x･x･x

Judal pulls Hakuryuu onto the loveseat with him when they get back and leans into him. It's more touchy than he usually is within the confines of the shop - usually nothing more than a brief kiss - but apparently today he wants to cuddle in full view of the windows. They _are_ full of whatever random decorations Judal decided on, but it's still not the right place for public displays of affection.

He doesn't have the heart to complain, though. It's nice to just sit quietly together after all the stress of the past week.

"Hey, Hakuryuu," Judal says softly, nuzzling against his ear. Hakuryuu's breath catches and it takes all his self control not to pull him even closer.

Hakuryuu clears his throat. "Yes?" he asks, and he's proud of himself for managing to keep his voice even.

"You know, I've been thinking about, I dunno," he begins, before rushing to continue. "So we've got a pretty good thing going together, right? You're here almost every day and just- I can't stand to spend this much time with anyone but you."

"Oh," Hakuryuu says softly, taking his hand.

"That probably sounds pretty stupid, but whatever. You figure it out," Judal says, cheeks ever so slightly pink as he refuses to meet Hakuryuu's gaze.

It's not that hard to figure out. If Judal thinks he's being subtle, he needs to work on his delivery. "It's not stupid."

"Oh, good," Judal says, still looking at their joined hands.

"I mean- Look, I'm not sure what to make of everything between us," Hakuryuu admits slowly, trying to figure out how he's going to say what's on his mind. It's still this confusing mess of feelings that he's been trying to ignore, but-

"Why did you save me?" Judal asks, interrupting his thoughts. He's staring at Hakuryuu now, eyes wide and serious.

"It was the right thing to do," he answers without thinking. He wouldn't leave him to fall that far without trying to help, at least.

Judal shrugs. "But you coulda freed yourself."

"Maybe I didn't want to see you die."

Judal sucks in a breath in surprise and there's silence between them, as heavy as the weight of Hakuryuu's words. It should go without saying that he wouldn't want to see anyone die on his watch, but there are so many other factors wrapped up in their relationship that it all feels so complicated. He's admitting to wanting Judal alive more than he wants freedom from his contract, but now that he's said it, Hakuryuu realizes he's felt that way for awhile now.

"I'm not the best at expressing myself-"

"Better than me," Judal interrupts, and Hakuryuu frowns. "Sorry."

"Like I was trying to say, this isn't something I'm particularly good at, but I'm trying to say it anyway. I care about you and enjoy spending time here, and it's not just because I _have_ to be here. I like to be around you," he says.

Judal nods. "I do, too."

"So we should keep doing what we're doing," Hakuryuu says firmly. "It's nice. I feel like I can trust you."

He keeps nodding and Hakuryuu thinks he may have said the wrong thing, but eventually Judal gives him a crooked, nervous smile. "Are we dating then? We're kind of dating. Maybe I'll even give you a raise."

"You don't pay me in the first place," he points out, and Judal laughs.

"Maybe I'll start," he teases, squeezing Hakuryuu's hand back.

"I haven't decided if you can actually afford to," he shoots back, and they both end up laughing. He doesn't know if this is the right way to talk about any of this, but it's the way that's working for them, and that's what matters most.

Judal wipes away a tear as he tries to stop laughing. "Look, I've got money, it's just not always written down the way it's supposed to be, okay? I could pay you uh, I dunno? Some dollars? I'll be honest, I don't actually know what minimum wage is. Last time I had a job it was like a dollar or something an hour."

"That's embarrassing. You haven't worked for that long?"

"I _own a business_ ," Judal says proudly. "I don't have to listen to anyone else now!"

Hakuryuu ruffles his hair softly. "I take it that was a problem before."

"Can you really see me holding my tongue against asshole bosses? Hell no!" he declares shamelessly. He considers his misbehavior like it's a badge of honor and Hakuryuu shouldn't find that as attractive as he does. But in a way, Judal's honesty about himself is refreshing and exhilarating, and Hakuryuu finally gives up on decency to pull him into a kiss.

Judal grabs the front of his shirt to kiss him back fiercely, more possessive and needy than usual but he's not complaining about it. It's the last bit of stress relief Hakuryuu didn't know he needed. It puts everything else from his mind - Alibaba, Aladdin, Cassim, and the mess of the genie - and replaces it all with the feeling of Judal's lips on his, his teeth nipping at him softly, and Hakuryuu relishes every bit of it.

He has no intention of stopping, but the bell above the door jingles to alert them to an incoming customer, and Hakuryuu feels like he's a silly teenager all over again as he pushes Judal off of him. It's embarrassing to get caught like this anywhere, let alone at his place of employment.

At least Judal also has the decency to look ashamed. His cheeks are bright red as he tries to compose himself for the customer, greeting them and shuffling them into the store so that they hopefully don't notice Hakuryuu on the loveseat. He's sure he looks just as ruffled as Judal.

When Hakuryuu has a chance, he slips into the office to try to straighten himself up. His shirt is rumpled from Judal clinging to it and his hair is a mess, but it could be worse. He'll just hide back here until the store is empty again to avoid feeling _more_ shame. He doesn't think he can face Judal right now without thinking about how a customer almost caught them making out, and he's also afraid to think about how little he cared about the risk of being out in the open. He needs to get himself back in line, but Judal somehow manages to teach him to be careless for the first time in his life.

It's terrifying and wonderful all at once.

Judal pokes his head in the room. "You gonna just hide in here all day, or what?"

"I didn't want to interrupt your customer," he says lamely, and Judal gives him a knowing look. "I just- Don't look at me like that. I needed to straighten up."

"Oh, come on, it's not like we were fucking on the couch," Judal says, like that makes it so much better. "Though I bet it would actually work pretty well on that one...it's comfortable enough."

"Judal!"

He grins. "Come on, I'm just teasing you. I don't actually have some sort of voyeurism kink or anything," he assures Hakuryuu, but then pauses thoughtfully. "I mean, unless you were into it, but it doesn't seem like your cup of tea."

"I most certainly am not into it," Hakuryuu says sharply. "I barely allow kissing you here. It's a _compromise_ because I like you so much."

Judal laughs and waltzes over to kiss him, because he's an asshole, but Hakuryuu can't bring himself to complain anymore. He doesn't pull Judal into his lap, tempting as it sounds, and instead pulls back after a brief kiss.

"You're no fun," Judal says, pouting as he drags Hakuryuu to keep him company at the counter. It's prime browsing time for people who have nothing better to do than paw over antiques they have no intention of buying, and Judal likes to make up stories about anyone who spends too much time looking things over. He doodles mini comics on the backs of receipts, each one more ridiculous than the last, and Hakuryuu has to cover his mouth a few times to hide a smile. One of them leads him to disguise a laugh with a cough, and after that he takes the pen from Judal.

"You hate my joy," he says under his breath, and Hakuryuu rolls his eyes.

"I like to be professional, and you're trying to make me laugh at these nice people who are trying to shop here," Hakuryuu corrects him quietly.

This time Judal rolls his eyes dramatically. "They're not gonna buy anything. Let me have fun at their expense, since they're wasting my time."

Hakuryuu elbows him subtly and Judal actually goes quiet as a customer comes up to ask him questions. He falls into his facade of a polite, helpful shopkeeper - with just a side of eccentricity - and walks them around, helping them compare a few lampshades until they finally leave without making a purchase.

"Told you so," Judal says triumphantly, glaring at the now closed door.

"You shouldn't give up on helping browsers just because you think they aren't going to buy something. You could be wrong."

"But I'm usually right."

Hakuryuu sighs, shaking his head. "I think I might have bad taste in men."

"It's weird, 'cause that's usually _my_ problem. But you're a good catch," Judal tells him, grinning widely, before he presses a quick kiss to Hakuryuu's cheek.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome!"

Judal gathers up his various doodles from the day and stashes them in a random drawer. Apparently he needs to give Judal a folder to store those in, too, or they're going to end up mixed in with important bookkeeping documents.

"I think my subconscious realized we were dating before either of us did," Hakuryuu tells him, thinking back to the night before. Judal cocks his head to the side, listening intently. "I thought that you were being a terrible boyfriend when you laughed at my car sickness."

"Maybe I should be offended that you think so little of my driving skills," Judal whines. "I didn't crash into anything! That's an improvement for me."

"Please don't tell me that."

"Why not? I thought you might be proud."

Hakuryuu feels a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. This isn't cute. This shouldn't bring him so much joy, and yet his mood feels lighter just from being around Judal. "I'm relieved you didn't cause an accident in my car. Do you even have insurance?"

He shrugs. "Unless I've been accidentally paying for it for the past few decades, probably not. But enough about my failures as a driver. I think it's cute that you decided I was your boyfriend without telling me."

"Wait, that sounds bad-"

"I just said I thought it was cute," Judal interrupts, patting his hand sympathetically.

"I thought you might be using sarcasm to express that I did something that made you uncomfortable," Hakuryuu explains.

"Nah, I like the whole creepy possessive thing. I think it's romantic," he says, and Hakuryuu breathes out the last bit of stress he was holding in.

"You probably shouldn't."

Judal kisses him again, properly this time, and pulls back with a far too wide grin. "You're the one who fell for the guy who basically owns your soul, so you don't have room to talk, Hakuryuu."


	25. Chapter 25

I am so, so sorry for the unexpected and unannounced hiatus D: for those of you who don't know, I work in an adult novelties store, aka I sell sex toys and porn to the masses. retail is absolute hell during the holidays and it just wiped me out ;w;

HOWEVER! here I am! I'm back in business! and today is my birthday! so gimme some comments as presents ;D

* * *

After the genie and all its related stress, Hakuryuu wants nothing more than to go back to his normal life. Of course, his normal life is now full of magic, but in a manageable way. It's something he can handle now that he's used to it.

Judal looks sleepier than usual this morning: he's only wearing light makeup, and his hair is messy in a way that Hakuryuu is fairly sure isn't some sort of fashion statement. He yawns and waves when he sees Hakuryuu, though. "Morning!"

He stops at the front counter on his way to the back office. "Good morning. You're here early."

"Felt like getting up," he answers simply, shrugging. The dark circles under his eyes say otherwise, but Hakuryuu isn't going to question him. Judal's sleep schedule is as ever-changing and unpredictable as the wind. For now, he'll just make them some fresh coffee and leave Judal to try to stay awake at the counter.

Before he can tend to the coffee though, something else steals his attention. There's a potted plant on the desk, looking very much like it may have been squished in transit. There's no note or explanation for it, just a few stray leaves that have fallen off already. There's not even a label for what kind of plant it is, but he should be able to figure that out on his own. He's just not sure _why_ it's here.

He'll deal with it in a bit. First he has to get the coffee started before Judal passes out. Once it's brewing, however, Hakuryuu sits down to get a better look at the potted plant taking up the better part of his work space. It looks newly purchased - it's even still in a plastic pot - but with Judal it's entirely possible that he just found it somewhere. It doesn't have any flowers right now, but from the look of the leaves, he thinks it might be some kind of anthurium. If he's right, it should be easy enough to take care of once he's breathed some new life into it.

The coffee finishes before he can do much more than move it to an unoccupied corner of the desk. He'll try to find somewhere better for it after he takes Judal his coffee.

Judal glances over, and his whole face lights up. "Coffee!"

"You looked tired," Hakuryuu says simply, pressing a mug into Judal's greedy hands.

He takes a long sip and smiles. "Mmm, this is good. You always know when I need my daily shot of sugar and caffeine."

"I thought you might fall asleep on the counter, and then how would you make snide comments about your customers?" Hakuryuu teases, leaning against the counter with his own coffee in hand. His is significantly less sweetened and lacks the whipped cream topping that Judal loves so much, but _he_ actually wants to enjoy the flavor of the coffee. He didn't buy good coffee beans for work just to mask them with sugar and chocolate.

Judal laughs. "It's a special talent. I can shit on people even in my sleep," he says, before he returns to attempting to inhale his coffee as quickly as possible. At least he knows Judal likes and appreciates it. "Shit, I don't know _how_ you make it taste like the fancy shit I get from the coffee shop, but I think it might be some new kind of magic."

"It's just practice," Hakuryuu assures him, but Judal shrugs. Now that he knows Judal won't fall asleep out here, Hakuryuu can get to work properly. "I'm going back to the office, but there's more in the pot if you want any. Just let me know."

"Ah, actually, did you see the…" Judal begins, but trails off. He looks nervous all of a sudden. "Eh, never mind."

Hakuryuu raises an eyebrow. "Is this about the plant I found on my desk?"

Judal's whole face lights up again. "Oh, that! You noticed it?"

"Of course I did. It was in the middle of the desk."

He grins. "Yeah! I saw it and thought of you, so I got it."

"Oh, um. Thank you," Hakuryuu says awkwardly. What is he supposed to do with a sickly houseplant? He guesses that he can use it for magic practice and then just add it to his current collection of plants. He really hopes Judal didn't go out of his way to get him this.

"You're welcome!" Judal says enthusiastically. "Guess I'll let you get back to work."

Well then. As always, Judal has given him something surprising to deal with. This gift is going to be a project for his next day off, and hopefully Hakuryuu will be able to show him what he does with it.

x･x･x

A few days later, Judal pokes his head into the office while Hakuryuu is making his way through color-coding the various years' tax documents. "Hey, Hakuryuu, can you watch the store for a minute?"

"Of course," Hakuryuu agrees, setting his pencil down. At least he's at a fairly convenient stopping point in his current organization project. "Did you need to get something from the back?"

"Nah, I left something upstairs," he explains sheepishly, letting Hakuryuu make his way to the counter ahead of him. "I'll be right back!"

Hakuryuu waves as he goes, smiling softly to himself. There's just something very cute about Judal's various strange quirks, even though he can't quite figure out _why_ he likes them. He settles into the comfortable chair behind the counter and looks out into the store. It's devoid of customers at the moment, but he'd never describe it as empty. There's a pulse to the store, the gentle thrum of the various magical items weaving between Judal's magic that keeps it all together, and every day it feels more and more like home in a way that nothing really has since his childhood.

Before he can get lost reminiscing, the door opens to let in a small wave of displeased looking customers, and Hakuryuu prepares himself for disappointment. He hopes Judal is grateful, or preferably, that he returns to deal with his unhappy customers.

"I need to return these plates," a woman says sharply, setting a paper bag on the counter. "They didn't match what I thought they would."

Hakuryuu glances in the bag to see that yes, they are plates that he remembers from a few weeks ago. However, that doesn't change the fact that Judal's return policy is "Go Fuck Yourself I Don't Want It Back," so he'll have to explain that politely. "I'm sorry ma'am, but we don't accept returns. Our policy is on the receipt and posted at the counter," he tells her, pointing at the "No Returns, No Exchanges" sign next to the register.

Her expression turns sour. "I know the _owner_ ," she says and Hakuryuu has to resist the urge to interrupt her there. "And he would never tolerate that kind of attitude. I shop here all the time!"

"Do you really?" Hakuryuu asks her. He's never seen her before, and he doubts she's the kind of person that Judal would make an exception for, but he wants to see where she's going with this.

"Of course I do. I've never seen _you_ around, so I assume you're some sort of temp worker who doesn't know the rules. Just give me my money back for these, and I won't let your boss know that you were mouthing off," she says haughtily.

Hakuryuu sighs. "Like I said, we don't accept returns. The policy is clearly visible at the time of purchase and not up for debate."

"Well I never! I would like to talk to your manager," she insists. "I am _not_ leaving here without my money, you thief!"

"I am the manager," Hakuryuu tells her, taking advantage of the title Judal jokingly gave him. The customer frowns deeply, looking like she's considering whether he's telling the truth or not. "The owner stepped out a bit ago, but you're welcome to come back when he's in if you'd like to argue with him."

She pales. "Well, no, that shouldn't be necessary. I'm sure he'll remember me when you explain why you did the return."

"We don't do returns," Hakuryuu says firmly, gently closing the bag and handing it back to the displeased but defeated customer. She snatches it and stomps off in a huff, but she doesn't look like she'll be back.

He doesn't get a chance to celebrate his success, though. Another customer comes up to harass him about a price they were quoted, and then someone else wants help getting something down from a high shelf, and Hakuryuu gets lost dealing with one complaint after another until he can finally satisfy them enough to leave.

As the last customer leaves, Hakuryuu lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Usually Judal handles the store if it gets busy, or they work through the rush together, but apparently today he has to get practice in dealing with every stuck up person in the city. On the one hand, he _does_ have a fair amount of control over the prices, but on the other, he _also_ knows how much it costs to keep this place running and the value of what they're selling.

Where _is_ Judal? He said he'd be right back, but it's been at least an hour now. Hakuryuu gives the front door a good long look before pulling his phone out, just to be sure no one else wants to sneak in and monopolize his time.

 **Hakuryuu:** Judal, where are you?  
 **Judal:** Upstairs!  
 **Hakuryuu:** I know that. What's taking you?  
 **Judal:** Uh  
 **Judal:** I'll be right down  
 **Judal:** Gimme a sec

That answered absolutely nothing, but he's not surprised. Judal probably forgot what he went up for and got lost doing who knows what, but hopefully this should get him back on track. Hakuryuu puts his phone away and gets to work straightening up the shop after the veritable whirlwind of customers he had, returning every trinket to its proper place. He feels accomplished in the end, now that the store looks good again, until he realizes that Judal is _still_ missing.

What the hell?

Hakuryuu sits at counter and pulls his phone back out, hoping to see some sort of explanation. He sighs. Of course there isn't.

The bell over the door rings before Hakuryuu can compose a text, so he slips his phone under the counter as he looks up to greet the customer. Instead he sees Judal. Hakuryuu isn't quite sure what to say to or about him. He's wearing different clothes and somehow he's lost most of his makeup from earlier. The lack of makeup makes him seem frazzled and embarrassed, especially with the way his damp hair limply frames his face.

Judal gives him an awkward half smile. "Hey!" he says, and it's too high pitched; it's just enough off that Hakuryuu feels even more confused.

"Are you alright?" he asks, and he's met with a very unconvincing laugh.

"I'm great!" Judal insists, striding over to the counter. Up close, Hakuryuu realizes his hair isn't damp with water, but something else, and he can see something sticky holding sections into clumps. It's not a good look for him. "Sorry for taking so long, you know how things get."

"Judal, you've been gone for hours," Hakuryuu says in exasperation. "Did something happen?"

He deflates. "I mean- Yeah, I guess so. I should just stop trying to cook," he says without elaboration, leaning against the counter.

"I thought you hated cooking."

"Well, yeah, I do! But I was trying- Ugh, nevermind," Judal says, pushing back off of the counter. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up. I think I have something in my hair."

Hakuryuu sighs. He's not sure how he's upset Judal, but he seems frustrated now. "It looks like batter," he supplies, and Judal laughs.

"Probably!"

Hakuryuu stares, not wanting to further upset Judal by saying the wrong thing. But that too seems wrong, and instead the two of each other stare at each other awkwardly until Hakuryuu finally breaks the silence.

"Were you hungry? I could have made you something." Hakuryuu watches Judal's face twist with frustration again. Wrong answer. "I mean-"

"No, it's stupid," Judal says. "Not your cooking, I mean. I." He sighs and goes to sit with Hakuryuu, leaning into him. "I just wanted to make you something nice," Judal whines as he rests his head on Hakuryuu's shoulder. Only his feelings for Judal keep him from pushing his sticky hair away, but apparently he's too invested to be grossed out by this. "You know, 'cause you're always cooking for me and shit? I figured I could return the favor."

"Oh, Judal...you don't have to cook for me, really. I know it's not your strong point," Hakuryuu assures him.

He shakes his head. "I know! But I thought it would be romantic or something stupid like that."

"That's- that's thoughtful, but kind of weird," he says. "It's not your style."

"Maybe I'm trying to make romantic my style," he says defensively, curling in on himself more until Hakuryuu feels like he's making things so much worse instead of better. Why is he so bad at this? How does he get better?

Hakuryuu takes a deep breath and tries again. "I mean, it's just not what I'd expect or desire from you. I like you for who _you_ are, not for some flashy romantic gesture that doesn't feel like something you'd want to do," he explains carefully, trying to get his point across without discounting the effort Judal put in. "Thank you though. I appreciate that you were trying, even if it turned into a mess."

"Please don't look at my kitchen."

"I don't _want_ to look at your kitchen," he says firmly, and Judal laughs. That's much better.

"Okay, cool, I get it, you don't want to eat my terrible cooking," Judal says, and he finally sounds more like himself: relaxed and full of self-deprecating humor. "I guess of course you love my natural charms, like being bad at paperwork and insulting people while I take their money."

Hakuryuu laughs without meaning to and the last bit of awkwardness slips away until it feels right again, comfortable and familiar, and he's struck by just how much he likes being by Judal's side.

"You like the plant though, right? That's like, Hakuryuu enough that even my stupid ass couldn't fuck it up," Judal says proudly and Hakuryuu realizes that no, he's not going to be able to lie about this one, even if it would make Judal feel better.

"Well, it's nice," he begins and Judal groans loudly.

"Damn it, I woke up early and everything! Flowers are supposed to be romantic!" he insists. So he had gone out of his way. That confirms that suspicion.

Hakuryuu nods. "Traditionally, yes, they are, but they always seem so pointless. They'll die within a few days and then you're left with a mess to clean up."

"I knew it! I knew you'd think that flowers were just like a dumb waste, so I got you that...whatever it is, I can't remember the name," Judal explains excitedly. "It has flowers but it won't just die like a piece of shit."

"Your intentions are really sweet."

Judal narrows his eyes. "You hate it."

"I didn't say that-"

He flings an arm over his eyes dramatically. "I'm not cut out to date people, Hakuryuu, you can just tell me it straight," Judal whines.

"I most certainly did not say that," Hakuryuu tells him again, and he can see a tiny smile teasing at the corners of Judal's lips. Okay, they're back to joking. At least he's not actually upset. "I think it was a sweet gesture that could have been executed better if you stopped trying to be something you're not. Just...just be yourself, Judal. That's who I like and who I'm prepared to deal with on a daily basis."

Judal's face flushes red and he groans. "Only if you stop being sappy and shit. Don't do that."

"I was just being honest-"

"Don't!" he interrupts, grabbing Hakuryuu by the front of his shirt to pull him into a quick, messy kiss. "I've talked about emotions enough for this century, thank you very much."

Hakuryuu smiles softly. "Alright. I think I can handle that."


	26. Chapter 26

hi, I get horrible seasonal depression and basically take a writing break every winter without meaning to...this has happened three years in a row now ;w; anyway, I'm back for now! not sure if it'll be back to a weekly schedule yet, but I'll be trying :D

thank you to everyone who has stuck around despite me vanishing for months ;w; I hope you keep enjoying this! I've missed these boys!

* * *

Morning comes and goes with no sign of Judal, but it's a comforting return to their normal routine. Hakuryuu looks up when Judal walks in, and tries to hide his smile when he really should be chastising him for coming in so late. Instead, he's comforted by their return to the normal routine; it's nice that Judal is taking what he said to heart and has stopped pushing himself to be something he isn't. He finally looks well rested and properly put together, his eyes sparkling with makeup again, but he looks annoyed.

"Good afternoon, Judal," he says warmly. "Is something wrong?"

He groans. "I've got pests outside," he says, before laying on the counter dejectedly.

Hakuryuu pats his head. "Do you need me to call an exterminator?" he asks, assuming they're dealing with some kind of bug infestation from Judal's attitude. It shouldn't be too difficult, but he knows how much Judal likes to overreact to minor inconveniences to get his point across.

"What?" Judal angles his head to stare at Hakuryuu with one eye.

"An exterminator. You know, to get rid of the pests?"

Judal groans again, burying his face in the desk once more. "If only that would help. I don't think they'll take children."

Oh, that's what it is. Judal hates dealing with the teenagers who will occasionally loiter on the sidewalk outside the shop. For how young he makes himself look, Judal can be such a grouchy old man sometimes. "I can go chase them off, then. They tend to actually listen to me."

"Good fucking luck!" Judal tells him, waving him off. Hakuryuu shakes his head and leaves Judal to mope in peace. He can deal with a couple of wayward teenagers without making it a life ending issue.

Hakuryuu pushes the front door open, fully prepared to deal with the same unruly teens he's chased off before, but instead finds two children standing by the door. The taller one looks like she's barely ten and the other is even younger. To make matters worse, there's not a parent in sight. Hakuryuu sighs. Is this why Judal didn't want to deal with them? He can understand that. He doesn't want to be tasked with lost children, either.

"Hello there," he begins, hoping that maybe he can just send them on their way. They both turn to look at him at once, and anything else Hakuryuu had to say dries up. Vacant, solid black eyes stare back at him, and Hakuryuu can now feel something wrong in the magic of the air around them. He doesn't know what it is, but he can tell it shouldn't be like this.

"Can we come inside?" the girl asks, jolting Hakuryuu out of his thoughts.  
"No, I'm sorry. You cannot," he says firmly but kindly. He knows better than to agree to the demands of mysterious magical things at this point. "If you could go somewhere else, that would be for the best."

She continues to stare at him, calm and unblinking. "No, thank you," she says simply before she and the smaller boy next to her both turn away to stare blankly into the street. It's unsettling to see them watch the rest of the world go by without any concern, but there's nothing else he can do right now.

Hakuryuu steps back inside, frowning. "Judal, why-"

Judal starts laughing so hard he nearly falls out of his seat. "You thought I was just pissed about some stupid teens again!"

"If you knew that, why didn't you warn me about whatever those are?" Hakuryuu asks, gesturing towards the street.

Judalshrugs. "I dunno. I kinda hoped they'd just listen to you 'cause you're so serious and official sounding, but I guess not." He settles back into the seat behind the counter, sighing theatrically in the direction of the doorway.

Hakuryuu shakes his head. "No. They asked to come in, so I told them to leave. They didn't listen, though."

"Ugh, thanks for not letting them in," Judal says in annoyance. "They're one of those things where they gotta be invited in or they gotta stay out there. Once they get in though… Ugh, we'd never have gotten rid of 'em if they'd made their way in here."

Hakuryuu feels accomplished; he is learning what to stay away from. "Of course."

Judal runs a hand through his bangs, obviously still feeling fussy from the kids' existence. "I'm just frustrated! Why are they bothering me?"

"I don't know, but knowing what they are might help me answer that. You've been very vague,," Hakuryuu reminds him. He'd love some answers, rather than the assumption that he somehow knows about every magical creature that Judal does.

"Oh, right." Judal waves a hand, as though dismissing the thought that maybe Hakuryuu not knowing on could possibly somehow be his fault. "They're just called 'black-eyed children' 'cause I guess no one ever gave them a fancy bullshit name. They don't usually get into cities, but I guess they got here somehow. Some moron musta given them a ride or something."

He sounds so personally offended that it's kind of cute. "I didn't feel comfortable around them," Hakuryuu says, trying to puzzle out why anyone would let them near them.

"'Course you didn't, 'cause you're not a fucking dipshit. They usually go after nonmagical people so they can eat all their energy without being noticed," he continues, leaning back in his chair. "But like, out in the middle of nowhere on the side of the road, because they pretend to be hitchhikers. Nonmagical people can't really tell that there's anything wrong with them, so they're easy prey."

"Wouldn't their eyes set them apart?"

"Nope! They look totally normal if you're not magically inclined," Judal says, grinning. "It's pretty slick, but honestly they're just an annoyance if you're someone like me."

Hakuryuu raises an eyebrow. "Rude?"

Judal groans. "You're rude! I meant super powerful and awesome with a ton of magical items! Ah… Shit, it's probably 'cause I'm someone with a whole bunch of magical items in one place. Like I said, they eat magic. So, I guess I'm a prime target."

He nods. This makes sense, even if it's frustrating to not have a solution. "I see."

"Look, Hakuryuu, they're pesky little brats but I can't remember how to scare them off right now," he says, dramatically laying an arm over his eyes. "Just...I don't know, pretend they're not there until I can fix the problem, I guess."

Hakuryuu doesn't press any further. The best he can do is go on with today like normal, and try to look up these 'black-eyed children' when he has some free time. He's not quite sure where to begin with research, though; it's a very generic name, and he hasn't come across a search engine for magical creatures yet. It's not surprising. For a community that uses secrecy to keep itself safe, an online presence would just be asking for trouble.

It's fine. He has actual work to do first, anyway. Every time he think he's made a decent amount of progress on organizing Judal's old paperwork, he finds another box tucked away in a back corner. It almost feels like they're multiplying at this point. It would be a funny thought, if Hakuryuu made himself forget that he was working somewhere with such a surplus of magic that boxes of paperwork could, possibly, become animated to the point of procreation.

Maybe he should stop thinking about things like that and just focus on his work.

His organized catalog of old tax documents and inventory has been coming along nicely, and he's even been able to trim some old paperwork that's basically trash at this point. Unfortunately, paperwork doesn't fix the problem outside, and Judal's mood gets progressively worse as the day goes on and the black-eyed children remain outside the shop. It's probably not helped by all the customers commenting on how cute they are or asking if the children need help finding their guardians.

Despite the unseasonably warm evening improving their sales, Judal flips the open sign over fairly early. Hakuryuu doesn't question it. He's learned that sometimes Judal is just going to let his whims influence the business hours, but he can't really blame him today. It's been stressful.

He glances over at Hakuryuu. "Guess I'll see you in the morning," he says, slipping the day's paperwork into a folder. Hakuryuu can only hope it's the right one. If not, he'll sort it out tomorrow. He has other plans tonight.

"I was thinking we could go to a movie together, since we're closing early enough to make it to an actual theater," he suggests, and Judal's whole face lights up.

"Yeah, that sounds good!" he agrees enthusiastically, rushing through his closing steps in excitement. "What do you wanna see?"

"Judal, you have to know by now that I have no idea what's currently in theaters. That's up to you."

"Yes, yes, you're somehow more of an out of touch old man than I am, how could I forget?" Judal teases, and Hakuryuu is glad to see the smile actually reach his eyes. He was hoping this would help his mood improve.

He takes the deposit out of Judal's hands while trying to hide his own smile. "We don't have to go, you know…"

"No, I wanna!"

"Just let me drop this in the safe first," Hakuryuu says, popping back into the office for just a second. He comes out to find a surprisingly empty storefront. "Judal?"

Nothing.

He probably just slipped out to get something from his apartment, but it's still a bit unsettling - especially with the black-eyed children lurking right outside the front door. He glances out the front window, and, yes, they are still there, staring vacantly at the empty street. Hakuryuu sighs and goes to lean against the counter while he waits. Everything is fine; he's just worrying himself too much.

Judal finally reappears in a shower of sparkles, grinning. "Sorry, I wanted to freshen up!"

Hakuryuu lets out a breath of relief he didn't know he was holding. "And show off?"

He laughs. "Sometimes I just like to be extra over the top, plus I knew it would just be you here to appreciate how fabulous I can be."

"Oh, I see," Hakuryuu says, offering Judal his hand. The extra effort shows: his makeup is flashier than usual, his braid is neatly tied back without any stray hairs, and he's changed into slightly different clothes. "You do look nice, though."

Judal's smile widens. "I do! Thank you."

"Should I change?" he asks, suddenly worried that he might be underdressed. Is it supposed to be a fancy date? He's never sure what the right look is for these sorts of things.

"Nah, you always look dressed up. Any more and we might be too fancy for the shitty movie I wanna see," Judal says, before pulling out his wand and drawing a sigil in front of them. "Come on, I don't wanna walk all the way back to your place for the car!"

Hakuryuu allows himself to be pulled through and into his living room. "Why are we going to see a movie if you already know that it's bad?"

"Nah, it'll be fun!" Judal says, already heading out the front door. Hakuryuu is happy that Judal knows his way around the building now, but he can be a bit much to keep up with when he's this excited. "It's some genero-sounding action flick with Nic Cage in it, so it'll be that really entertaining kind of mindless action, you know?"

"Not really, no."

"How are you so out of touch with having fun? Whatever, I'm sure you'll have a good time anyway," Judal assures him, tapping his fingers on the roof of the car while he waits impatiently for Hakuryuu to open it. Hakuryuu's almost surprised Judal doesn't just teleport straight into the car he's in such a hurry today.

"I'm not out of touch with having fun. I just like different fun than you." Hakuryuu taps the button to unlock the car and then climbs into the driver's seat. "Though I have been learning an appreciation for all the things you like too."

When they arrive, Judal, unsurprisingly, buys far too much overpriced movie theater snacks and candy - but no popcorn - and shoves half of it into Hakuryuu's hands when he can't carry it all.

Their theater is almost empty and Judal takes full advantage of that to run commentary. At this point, Hakuryuu isn't even annoyed anymore; this is just how Judal experiences movies, so he's gotten used to it. As long as he's not disturbing anyone else, it's actually kind of fun to hear his reactions to something new.

True to Judal's predictions, what the movie lacks in substance is made up for by over the top acting, and Hakuryuu finds himself enjoying it more than he expected to. There's just something about the acting that's so shameless and unselfconscious that he can't help but be impressed. It reminds him of Judal in a way - absolutely ridiculous and over-the-top to the point where it should be obnoxious, but instead it does a magic trick and becomes intensely endearing.

"Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Hakuryuu admits, much to Judal's obvious delight. It's cool when they get outside, the first hints of fall's chill in the air around them.

"Told you so!" he says gleefully. "I have great taste."

Hakuryuu chuckles a little. "I wouldn't go that far," he teases, and Judal laughs.

"Well, I would," he shoots back, still grinning happily as they make their way to the car. Judal makes himself comfortable in the passenger seat and pulls out one of the remaining bags of movie theater candy.

"I guess I can't stop you," Hakuryuu says. "Just like I can't stop you from eating in my car. Please don't make a mess."

Judal laughs and very pointedly drops a wrapper on the floor. At Hakuryuu's withering glare, he sheepishly picks it back up and puts it in the the designated car trash bag. "You know, you've loosened up, but you're still crushing my joy."

"I'm crushing your joy by asking you to clean up after yourself?"

"Yes."

Hakuryuu shakes his head. "You are so much sometimes, you know that?"

He grins widely - almost too widely, if Hakuryuu's being honest. "I'm precisely the right amount to be me."

"That's true," he agrees, pulling out of the parking lot. "I can drive you home if you'd like."

Judal doesn't answer at first, and at a glance he looks like he's deep in thought. But eventually he shakes his head. "Nah, I got it. Just head back to your place."

"Alright."

Judal spends the ride home chattering about the movie, as happy to go on without any input from Hakuryuu as Hakuryuu is to listen to him. It's nice to see his good spirits restored. It's exactly what Hakuryuu was hoping the movie would do.

"Thanks for the date," Judal says when they park the car, leaving out 'and for distracting me from the black-eyed children at work,' but Hakuryuu knows what he means.

"You're welcome," he says, but Judal is gone already. Hopefully tomorrow will be better for him.


	27. Chapter 27

apparently "I'll try to update more" means "sorry it's gonna be 7 months for another chapter because of who I am as a person" but here we are! I had a very successful November writing (thx as always nanowrimo), though it was mostly original fiction. BUT! I did teach myself some better writing habits, so I feel a lot more confident in saying that yes, I am going to be making a concerted effort to update this more regularly! I miss these boys! :D

anyway, onto the important part: the very autumnal inspired chapter, posted in early December XD enjoy~~~

* * *

Hakuryuu isn't naive enough to think that problems solve themselves overnight, but something about being around Judal has made him want to believe. Unfortunately, the black-eyed children are still standing in front of the store when Hakuryuu arrives in the morning. They glance at him as he walks up, unblinking and uncomfortably still.

"I don't suppose I can convince you to leave," he says as he pulls out his store key.

"Can we come in?"

He frowns. "No," Hakuryuu tells them firmly. Hopefully they'll at least leave customers alone today.

Judal is going to be upset again, he knows that much.

Hakuryuu doesn't give himself time to stress too much over it. Counting the register, checking the shelves for anything broken or misplaced (as though anything could be misplaced in Judal's chaotic shop), and giving the place a quick sweep keep him busy until it's time to turn on the lights and open the store. The morning is fairly slow, and he's able to plod along with his paperwork until Judal comes in.

True to his expectations, Judal comes in grumpy and it only goes downhill from there as customers finally start to arrive. He snaps at anyone that makes the mistake of mentioning the children outside, to the point that he's starting to scare away far more business than usual.

Hakuryuu frowns, setting aside his current stack of papers to focus on something else. It's not technically work related, but it is Judal related, and that's close enough. Their movie date last night seemed to put Judal in a better mood, so maybe he just needs something else to get his mind off the children haunting the door. He'll have to brainstorm some ideas.

He just took Judal to the movies, so he'll have to do something different. He taps his pen on the desk, thinking. What do other people do for dates? Go out for dinner? They already order take out together all the time, and Hakuryuu even cooks for him on occasion. It's sweet, he thinks, but it's not a date. At that moment, Hakuryuu has the somewhat awkward realization that he, like Judal, is not a naturally romantic person. He used up his one 'date night' idea on going to the movies last night and now he's completely tapped out.

Maybe if he'd been better at romance or tried harder to make friends and romantic partners in the first place, he'd have more experience to pull from.

He groans. How hard can it be to think of a date idea? People go on dates all the time, presumably without stressing this much about what to do, but it's just not in his nature to be impulsive. He has to plan this out.

Lucky for Hakuryuu, there's always somewhere to turn if he needs to learn something new: the internet. Someone out there has probably made a list of date ideas already, and if he can find it, he can try to use it for inspiration.

Searching for "date ideas" gives him so many lists that it's actually kind of overwhelming to try to pick just one. This is a little more than he bargained for, so Hakuryuu takes a deep breath to calm down before continuing. '50 Creative Date Ideas' sounds like a good starting point, at least. Judal is a fairly creative person. Hakuryuu looks at the first couple of suggestions and frowns. He can't imagine taking Judal on a brewery tour; he doesn't think he's ever even seen him drink anything besides water, coffee, and juice.

Birdwatching? He doubts Judal would consider sitting quiet and still for an entire afternoon a fun activity. Hakuryuu keeps reading, only to discover that most of these are just "get drunk, but somewhere different than where you usually get drunk." There's nothing creative about that.

The next few lists are fairly similar, with mundane suggestions like "recreate your first date" - did they ever have a proper first date? - and "work on a DIY project" - Judal's entire shop is one big, neverending DIY project on its own. He'll have to come back to this after lunch.

Once he's eaten, Hakuryuu restarts his date idea search with a fresh mind. He's determined to find something this time. After scrolling through a couple more lists, something finally catches his eye: "head out to a farm and go berry picking." It's a bit out of season for most berries, but it's the perfect time of year for apples and pumpkins. He remembers Judal mentioning decorating for Halloween, so Hakuryuu has a feeling that autumn inspired activities might be to his tastes.

This is a good starting point. Hakuryuu closes the list and looks for a local farm that's open to the public. He finds one that's about an hour out from the city, but it's hosting all sorts of fall themed events for next month. Judal would probably like a corn maze, and definitely fresh, locally made sweets.

Hakuryuu makes a list of potential activities they could partake of at the farm and tucks it away fro now. He'll get back to it after work.

x･x･x

Judal knocks on the office door loudly, jarring Hakuryuu out of his work, before barging right in. "Hey, I'm closing up," he says.

Hakuryuu glances at the time but chooses not to comment on how early it is, even for Judal. "Let me just clean up what I'm doing in here."

"Yeah, that's fine. I just wanted to let you know before you accidentally worked the whole night away," Judal explains, leaning against the door frame while he watches Hakuryuu pack up.

"I would not."

"You might!"

Hakuryuu shakes his head, but he's glad that Judal is joking around with him instead of moping. "I take it we'll be closed tomorrow?"

Judal nods. "Mmmhmm, and I don't have any appointments. So yeah, I guess you're off the hook for the day."

Hakuryuu slides the last of the receipts into a folder and puts it away. The office could use a good dusting, but he can tell that Judal is more than ready to get out of here. "I was actually going to go out of town a bit, just for the day. There's a farm that allegedly has the best pumpkins around, and I want to start stocking up for now for fall. If you don't have any other plans, I thought you might enjoy coming along."

"To go...food shopping?" Judal cocks his head to the side and stares at him expectantly.

"Well, there are other things to do there," Hakuryuu tries desperately to explain.

"At a farm?"

He seems a lot less enthused than Hakuryuu expected and he's not sure what to do now. He supposes he can try to spell it out for Judal more clearly, but he's fairly sure that he just doesn't want to go. Having Judal tell him it sounds like a stupid date idea is just going to make him feel worse. "You don't have to come along. There's just some pumpkin patches and apple picking, and I always feel that everything tastes better if you pick it fresh," Hakuryuu says lamely. "Enjoy your day off."

"Do they have peaches?" Judal asks. He doesn't look completely disinterested, but it's close.

"I'm not sure. It's not exactly peach season, but they might. I'd have to look it up," he says, and this seems to satisfy him.

"Kay."

Is this a yes or no? He thinks he should know by now, but Judal delights in making himself difficult to predict and understand. "Alright. Well, I'm going to go home, then," he manages, shrugging his jacket on as he goes. So much for doing anything with Judal tomorrow, or trying to plan dates anymore. He supposes he did get on Judal's case for trying to be something he isn't, but Hakuryuu feels like he could be the type of person that plans date and experiences.

At least he can have a relaxing day off. He shouldn't be so disappointed to be spending it alone, especially since he sees Judal nearly every day at work, but he is.

x･x･x

Hakuryuu loads the last of the clothes for this load into the laundry machine and goes to track down a fresh bottle of detergent. If he isn't going on a date, he might as well make himself useful around his own house. He's no good at relaxing for relaxing's sake- it's much more soothing to accomplish a goal, to-

"Hey, are you ready?" Hakuryuu hears from his living room. Is that Judal? There's some rustling, probably from him moving things around, and Hakuryuu rushes to investigate. He finds Judal dressed like some sort of modern witch with a fashionable scarf covered in occult symbols and heavy jewelry accented with raw crystals, poking around his living room.

"Judal?"

He looks over and grins. "There you are! Aren't you ready yet?"

Hakuryuu raises an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Judal rolls his eyes and sighs, like Hakuryuu is the weird one here. "Usually you're telling me off for not being ready time for anything, but look at you! I thought we were doing your fair thing today."

"Fair?"

"The farm fair!"

"You said it was stupid," Hakuryuu points out, confused.

"So?"

He sighs. "So, I figured you didn't want to go," he says carefully, trying to piece together what exactly is going on here.

"Of course we're going! I love having you drive me around places, especially when they're stupid! Do I really look like a man with discerning taste?" Judal asks, grinning and flopping on the couch before bossing him around some more. "So go get ready! I wanna go!"

"Oh. Well, okay then." Every time he thinks he's begun to figure Judal out, he surprises him. He can only hope today will go well despite the rough start. "Just give me a moment to get dressed."

"Kay."

Hakuryuu is now glad that he hadn't started any of his laundry yet. He'll have to worry about it later, but for now, he has to get ready to take Judal on a date that he thought he wasn't happening. This is fine. He at least has the plans he had begun yesterday and Judal's enthusiasm.

"So where is this place?" Judal asks once they're on the road and the city is miles behind them. He seems comfortable and more excited now with the first colorful leaves of fall littering the sides of the highway.

"About an hour north of the city, so probably another 45 minutes or so," he explains, glancing at his phone for confirmation. "If you want to put on some music, go ahead."

Judal reaches for the phone with glee, scrolling through to find what he's in the mood for today. "Cool, I'm gonna make you confront your secret shameful teen music again."

"You like it too."

"Yeah, but I have no shame. You like to pretend that you're cooler than all that, but I know better now!"

Hakuryuu doesn't bother to answer that, turning his attention fully to the road ahead. The highway winds on for miles, past fields and forests, and music fills the companionable silence between him and Judal.

x･x･x

Judal practically flies out of the car after they've parked and stretches out with a groan. "Next time, I'm just gonna sleep on the way," he whines, shaking his legs out.

"I told you how long it would take," Hakuryuu points out as he locks his car. He's glad he looked at a map online before arriving, because the sprawling farm doesn't have a clearly defined entrance from where they're parked. He recognizes a the hay and vine archway as an entrance and gestures for Judal to follow his lead. "Come on, the entrance is this way."

He follows Hakuryuu excitedly, bouncing on his heels. "Oh, fancy! Is it some kind of festival, or what?"

"Yes, actually. I was trying to explain that to you yesterday, before you called it lame and seemed disinterested," he points out and Judal laughs.

"You really took that so seriously!"

He groans. "You're an asshole."

Judal grins at him. "I prefer charmingly cheeky."

"Oh, I'm sure you do."

Judal opens his mouth to respond again, probably with another snarky comeback, but he stays quiet as he looks around the farm stretching in front of them. "Holy shit, I didn't think- is that a corn maze? Fucking sweet!"

Hakuryuu relaxes and a smile tugs at the corners of his lips. "I told you, I thought you might enjoy coming along," he says smugly. He was right about taking Judal here. He shouldn't have doubted himself.

"Well maybe you shoulda opened with the corn maze, instead of glorified grocery shopping," Judal says, before he bounds off. He wastes no time finding a stall that sells sweets, and Hakuryuu finds him with a candy apple covered in chocolate and sprinkles. It suits him, even though to Hakuryuu, it looks like an overwhelming amount of sugar. That's just the sort of thing that Judal is drawn to. "I wanna do the maze with you," he says around bites of candy apple.

"Sure," he agrees. His only worry is that Judal is going to get tired of his sticky, messy candy halfway through the maze and try to get Hakuryuu to take it from him. "I'm not carrying that for you when you get tired of it."

"I'm not gonna!" Judal says, clutching his candy apple possessively as Hakuryuu buys tickets for the maze. Everything is going so much better now that they're actually here. Hakuryuu is happy it's working out, even if he is still getting over the residual stress from from this morning's sudden change of plans.

Hakuryuu turns a corner after him only to find himself alone in a dead end. "Judal?"

Somewhere to his left, there's a muffled "Yeah?"

"Where are you?" Hakuryuu asks, looking around again. He hears rustling, and then a teleportation circle opens in the wall of corn beside him. Oh. So that's what it is. He's cheating. It shouldn't come as a surprise, and yet...

Judal grins at him. "Right here!"

"Judal!"

"What?"

"What do you think you're doing?" he asks incredulously. If anyone else comes by, he has no idea how to explain this. Hakuryuu knows that he's new to the world of magic, but Judal isn't. He should know better than to be so brazen.

His grin just widens. "Winning!" he declares, vanishing before he can be stopped.

Hakuryuu turns and goes back the way he came, trying to track both where Judal is and the route out. If he can stay one step ahead of him, he should hopefully be able to stop Judal from making any magic related messes. Anything else is fair game; it's much easier to explain away than someone literally teleporting away from dead ends in a corn maze.

It's hard at first, because he has to differentiate the sounds Judal is making from the general noisiness around him - it's not like they're the only ones in the corn maze, or this wouldn't be as big of an issue. But he can feel Judal's magic, prickling in his own veins from how deeply he knows and recognizes it, and Hakuryuu uses that to his advantage. He uses it to avoid dead ends and slowly but surely catch up to Judal, until he finally manages to corner him in a narrow dead end passage.

He thinks faster than Judal, reaching out with magic to will some of the corn to grab onto Judal before he can teleport away again.

Judal screeches when he realizes that he's stuck. "Hey!"

"Are you done running away yet?" Hakuryuu asks, making his way over to Judal. It's nice to see the tables turned finally, and he can't help but smirk.

"Mmm, maybe? I'm considering it," he answers, looking far from honest. Hakuryuu trusts him enough to know that he'll bolt the second he's released, and he tightens the plants' grip on Judal. Pumpkin vines snake up his legs, holding Judal more firmly in place until he's agreed to stop teleporting around the maze.

Hakuryuu shakes his head. "You could at least try to sound honest."

Judal shrugs. "Come on, we're having fun!" he says, twisting himself forward just enough to kiss Hakuryuu quickly, before pulling back with a grin.

He leans back in, grabbing the front of Judal's shirt to yank him closer, and kisses him more properly. He tastes sickly sweet from his candy apple - which, belatedly, Hakuryuu realizes has gone missing, probably ditched in a corner of the maze - and the air around them thrums with magic. Judal always feels somewhat like he's more magic than person but it's stronger now, with all the showing off he's done to cheat his way through the maze, and Hakuryuu finds it intoxicating. His usual qualms with public displays of affection melt away because it's just nice to be here, together, shedding the worries of work and responsibilities until they're just wrapped up in each other's company.

His thoughts are cut short by a loud cough from behind them, and Hakuryuu pulls back quickly. A family is staring at them, and the parents do notlook happy. The plants holding Judal in place go limp and pull back, letting him loose, and Hakuryuu can feel his cheeks burning. Judal doesn't look as shamed, but he can see it in the tight set of his shoulders.

"Sorry," Hakuryuu says as he and Judal slink past; he can't bring himself to say anything else or look back. He feels a bit like a teenager again, though he was never reprimanded for this sort of thing when he was one.

Judal takes his hand once they're away from the family and drags him to the right of the next fork. "I'm pretty sure this is the way out."

"Oh, good."

He grins. "I mapped this place out pretty well."

"Yes, from cheating," he points out, and Judal laughs. The last bit of awkwardness melts away with that, and they're both smiling by the time they make it through the exit.


End file.
